The tale of the Destiny Heroes
by english-red-roses
Summary: Aster Phoenix is well known for his D-Heroes created by his father. In his childhood, Aster saw a strange light comming from his dad's office, which perhaps may have the answers to a lot of questions about his family. In the meantime, he makes friends with the daughter of one of his dad's coworkers, whom he will form a special bond.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I **

With sleepy eyes little Aster ate the bowl of cereal that was in front of him. He could smell the freshly made coffee inside the white mug with a childish writing that read "Best Dad", a gift he had given to his father for his birthday. This mug was not bought, instead, Aster had taken a plain white cup from the back of the cupboard and decorated it with paint. Despite the huge mess in his room with purple, black and green paint all over the floor, his father was quite pleased with the gift. Aster's dad always enjoyed watching his son doing crafts and painting.

Aster was eagerly waiting on his seat to tell his father about the ideas he had for new cards. Once his father sat in front of him, the man smiled tiredly. He had bags under his eyes and his grey hair was messy. His father usually stayed up very late creating new monsters for Industrial Illusions. Aster had warned him about how staying up so late would get him sick (besides, why Aster had to go to bed early, when his father did not follow such command?), but his father replied that inspiration came to him mostly at night, and that he prefered spending the day with him.

"When you are a moody teenager, you will kick me out of your room!" his father had warned him, "I want to enjoy your company while I can".

"I would _never _do such a thing!" Aster complained in his childish high-pitched voice.

Back at the kitchen counter Aster finished his food very quickly. The rule of the house was not talking about work before breakfast. His short legs were balancing on the chair and his face was getting warmer while his father very slowly drank his coffee. He was definitely doing it on purpose, Aster thought to himself. Didn't his father want to hear his super-amazing-and-awesome idea?

"DAD" Aster screamed once his father sipped the last drop.

"SO-WHAT-ABOUT-HEROES-AND-THERE-IS-A-DOG-AND-A-VERY-BIG-GUY-AND-"Aster was speaking so fast that his father thought he might fall from the chair.

"A new set of heroes, huh?" his dad asked him, as it was the only thing he could understand from what he said.

"YES AND A VERY BIG GUY, AND A DOG AND A GUY WHO HAS LASERS, AND ANOTHER GUY-"

"Hmm, perhaps we could work something out" his dad interrupted him with a smiled.

After breakfast the Phoenix family (which was just Aster and his father) headed to the park. It was a warm summer weekend, many families were outside enjoying the day. Aster run towards a small girl around his age who he saw had a deck on her hands. Meanwhile his dad sat on a bench keeping an eye on his son and sketching some ideas they had talked about during breakfast.

A man sat beside him.  
"Good to see you, Elias" the man was a coworker of Aster's father at Industrial Illusions, whose speciality was designing water-type monsters. And just like him, he had a small sketchbook.

"Keeping an eye on the kids?" the man said while he pointed with his head to the spot where Aster and the girl played.

They both laughed.

"You are the only person with a deck around here!" Aster told her. "It's as if you were asking me for a duel!"

"Yes! Im testing some cards my daddy designed" she answered back.

Aster's face turned to a surprised expression.

"Your father? My dad designs cards too! And he is making a super awesome deck for me"

The girl giggled, "Well I would love to duel you with your new deck", she placed a face down.

"Your turn" she said.

Aster's deck consisted of dragons and wizards. Mostly, he relied on strong defenses, and counter effect trap cards. Meanwhile the girl's deck was based around mermaids and water type monsters. She mostly choose to attack, bearly using the defense position. Aster was patient, waiting for the right moment to reveal his ace card, a fusion monster, which gave him the victory over the girl.

They both ran to their fathers and to their surprise they were chatting like long time friends. Aster's father smiled at him and introduced the man and his daughter:

"Miles and Jade"

.

Aster realized that he was so wrapped in the duel that he never asked the girl his name. Embarrassed he introduced himself and apologized for his rudeness. Jade giggled as she shook his hand.

"It was a good duel, _Aster_"

They all decided to go for ice-cream, which the kids did not mind. Jade had told Aster that she hadn't eaten sweets for months after a very bad toothache. Aster could feel her excitement and found it cute. It was the same excitement he felt when his dad showed him a new card design.

At four o'clock both families separated. Aster didn't want to tell his father that he hoped to see Jade again soon. Once at home, he kept rambling about his duel with her and her cards. He told his father that Jade was using a deck created by her dad, and _he_ wanted his own special deck _as well_.

"Well" his dad said while showing his son his sketchbook "I sketched some ideas".

Aster saw a rough sketch of a big muscular man with long hair, chained from both feet and wrists.

"What's his name?" he asked pointing at the drawing.

"Well, I still haven't figured it out…" his dad shrugged. He then showed the animal companion he had been sketching. It looked more like a robot cat, its eyes were not visible and instead, it was covered by some sort of metal mask.

Elias Phoneix wanted to create a special deck for his son. He had noticed that he seemed to be quite above the level of intelligence for an 8 year old child. First, his excellent grades and fast comprehension of mathematics and grammar, and later while dueling his very different strategies. Aster seemed to control his deck as if it was an extension of himself and he thought his son might be successful in the world of Duel Monsters…

However, now wasn't the time. Despite seeing infinite potential on his son and Maximillian Pegasus was eager to meet him, after what Elias had told him, he wanted to spare his son a few more years before helping him to become a professional. Aster was still a child, a very emotional and creative child. Elias would not force him to grow up to enter the world of professional dueling. Once he reached 10, he had told Pegasus, Elias would allow Aster to begin his training. But still, he wanted to enjoy his son and his innocence while he could. In his eyes, Aster was a pure child. His blue eyes shone with excitement and wonder whenever he introduced him to a new hero. Pegasus had told him it was a rather selfish action, inevitably Aster would catch the eye of any pro duelist beside himself.

"He is destined for great things" Pegasus told him. "And you _can't_ run away from destiny" he had emphasized. Perhaps Aster could not run, but at least avoid it, while he could. Elias had seen the corrupted world of Pro Duelists. Some well known even used _his cards_. As an employer of Industrial Illusions he had the opportunity to be in events surrounded by them.

Fakeness, money, fame, sex, the constant pressure on duelist to achieve greatness, hours of their lives just dedicated to training. But then watching Aster duel and seeing him analyze other duelist strategies, Elias knew that Aster was meant for dueling. But just a few more years, he told himself. A few more years of peace, of him enjoying his childhood, of dueling for fun with friends, of falling in love with the game, of _child's_ _play_.

All this thoughts ran through his head as he kissed Aster good night.

"Love you, dad" he said.

"Love you too" his dad smile and turned of the light of his room.

. . .

As his son slept, Elias went to his working desk. He took a glance of his sketchbook and started redrawing them. A picture of him and Aster on their trip to Tokyo Disneyland was resting on the table. Aster was 4 years old when it was taken. The trip took place right after the divorce of Elias and Dana, Aster's mom. Divorce wasn't exactly common in Japan during those times, and specially, a man getting the custody of the child. Dana had chosen it that way, though. As if possessed, Dana changed her attitude from one day to the other.

It took a while to Elias to realize what happened. First, she introduced her to a man who was trying to enter the pro-dueling world, Mr. D, and tried to convince Elias to allow Aster to be trained by him. Mr. D was a regular guest on the house during that chaotic year, and took a particular interest in Aster.

Aster's first duel was against Mr. D, at the age of 4. He was the first person to realize that he had infinite potential. Mr. D had briefly explained to him the rules, and to make it simpler they just used normal cards with no effects. Aster took the hang of it pretty quickly: monster with high points attacks a monster with lower points is good, placing monster in defense means no damage to players points and only attacking directly after no monsters were in the field. Slowly, Mr D introduced the concept of trap cards and magic cards. Some would help to prevent an attack, some could increase the attack points of monsters, and so on. Aster quickly understood, and he was hooked. In his young mind it clicked. And he was smart enough to recognize some drawings he had seen of his father in the cards, which lead to the conversation of "Surprise! Your dad designs the monsters!" which Aster thought was the coolest job in the world.

However as autumn came, Dana started to avoid his son. She started changing her clothes, wearing mostly white. It seemed that she barely remembered her son at all. She talked to Elias about a much bigger project, more important than the family. And she wanted Elias to join too. However, she had seen that Aster would be a danger to that project. Elias was confused, _seen_, as in see the future? Was she trying to predict Aster's future? She considered that the best idea was to send Aster to a boarding school, while they could help building _this_ bigger project.

At first, Elias thought that Dana was having an affair with Mr. D and that was it; he never knew the full story. He sensed that it was something much deeper than just an affair, but he couldn't figure it out. Eventually, divorce seemed the only option, and Dana, as well as Mr. D, walked out of their lives. Dana didn't live with Mr. D after the divorce, which left Elias puzzled. From Dana's mother he had heard that she left the country in pursuit of this bigger project.

Elias decided to protect Aster from whatever had taken over Dana, through duel monsters and being there for him as much as he could. One could say that Elias was trying to act as if nothing ever happened, as if Dana was never there. There were no pictures of her, no sign that a third person ever lived in that house; despite being a very big penthouse for just two people. Aster did not remember his mother very well, neither Mr. D, and his father choose to keep it that way.

He glanced over the electric clock which read 02:45. Usually, he stayed until 5:00 and slept till 10:00. He had gotten used to very little sleep after Aster was born as he was a rather loud baby. Besides, he found the night more peaceful and quieter. He kept thinking about what Pegasus and Mr D. had told him. Aster was _destined_ for great things. Elias hated that word, Dana used to talk a lot about destiny, and her strong belief in it. If _Destiny_ was actually a thing, it meant it was unavoidable. Whatever Dana's project was, Pegasus plan for Aster, it was useless fighting against it. Destiny was inevitable, but even if it was, perhaps there was a way to protect his son from it. Somehow.

He glanced back at the sketch, at Aster's enthusiasm with the idea of a new set of heroes, made specially for him. And it dawned on him.

_Destiny Heroes._

* * *

**Hi people! So this is my first fanfiction after...4 years? It's been a long time since i wrote a story (fanfic or not) But I re-watched Yugioh GX a while a go and remembered how awesome it was. I always found Aster a very intresting character (he was my fave!). Originally this was going to be a one shot of Aster and his dad talking over breakfast, but then i decided to connect a few things from Aster's story (Mr D, why Sartioruius approched him, the destiny Heroes and the Society of Light). And ****Jade is my OC :) **

**Hope you guys like it! See you on the next chapter :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

When Aster woke up the next morning, he was surprised there was no coffee on the table, no cereal already made. He rushed to his father's bedroom, the bed was empty, no one slept there for the night. Instantly, he knew that the only place his dad would be was his office. Aster knew that when the door was closed it meant his father did not want to be disturbed.

"_But this is an emergency_" he thought himself. Inside, his father was lying asleep on his deck, holding a pen.

All of Aster's fears left him and he went over to gently pat Elias' shoulder. The second Aster rushed his fingers, Elias stood up surprised. His movements were stiff and his usually kind blue eyes were empty, with no life attached to them.

"Aster" a much deeper voice than his father's yelled at him. Aster froze in fear. "You must not let him fool you." and he slammed his head on the desk.

"Dad!" Aster cried. He shook him as his eyes became wet with tears.

His dad opened his eyes. The sky blue color Aster knew was back, and he looked at his son confused.

"What happened, Aster?"

"You were different, and you said scary things, and-"

Elias was not sure what his son was talking about, he just hugged him and apologized for not making breakfast.

"Don't worry dad. You should sleep. Let me make breakfast!" and he allowed his son to take him to his bed for him to rest.

Aster quickly made coffee, with two teaspoons of sugar as his father liked, and toast with butter. Today, Aster was going to be the day he was taking care of his father; a small pay back for everything he had done. His father insisted on allowing him to take care of the house, but Aster had none of it.

"You need to rest today, so you can go to work tomorrow".

Aster spent besides his father, painting on the floor the recently drawn heroes. Many times, his dad allowed Aster to paint his drawings give his dad ideas for color pallets. Aster started with the muscular guy his dad had showed him the day before: dark hair, purple shorts and brownish skin. In a messy handwriting his dad wrote: "_Destiny Hero-?_". Aster painted with a red marker a few red scars (he was a hero after all) and added a key lock on his chest (for the chains). "Perhaps this Destiny Hero was a prisoner of some sort", Aster thought because he seemed very powerful. He was very excited to try all this new cards, and hoped to see more. He then moved to the cat like-robot. The letter "D" was added to the metal cast that covered its face, and Aster thought that a pink-black combination of colors would be good for this monster. Aster saw this monster was called "_D-Cube_".

The next drawing was much more advanced: it read "_Destiny Hero-Double Dude_", with 6 stars. It was the drawing of a very skinny man with a suit, wearing a long scarf and a hat. Behind him, the first Destiny Hero he had colored was drawn. They looked very different, and Aster wondered how they could be related. He thought that perhaps this Double Dude was the one who imprisoned the muscular guy, and now was punished to do its binding. He read the description of Double Dude:

"_Warrior/Effect_

_Cannot be Special Summoned. This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase. During your Standby Phase: you can Special Summon 2 "Double Dude Tokens" (Warrior-Type/DARK/LEVEL 4/ ATK 1000/ DEF 1000. This card must be in your Graveyard to activate and to resolve this effect." _

Aster was very thankful with his father. He had worked so much the night before! He tried not to think about the earlier scene, it still gave him the shivers. He wondered what he had meant, or if perhaps, it was even real at all. His dad used to say that Aster had a wild imagination.

. . .

When his father woke up from his nap he suggested Aster to call someone to play. But Aster wasn't sure _who _to call: he wasn't a person with many friends. By his classmates he was seen as cocky, but Aster knew it was because they were jealous of his dueling abilities. It's not that he did not talk to anyone, he did have playmates, but he wasn't exactly someone who would tell his secrets to anyone.

Elias' suggested he called Jade. Afterall, it was hitting two birds with one stone: Aster would have company with her, and his dad could talk with her dad.

"You will call her. I'm _too weak_ to hold the phone" his father told Aster as he handed a card with Jade's dad, with his full name and his phone number written on it. His dad winked at him once Aster took hold of the phone. With sweaty palms, the child dialed the number.

From the other end, a female voice answered.

"H-hello. Its Aster. As-Aster Phoenix." In one breath he told the woman on the phone, who was Jade's mom, that his dad worked with her dad, and if she wanted to come over and play. He was very pleased when Jade's mom answered that it would be an excellent idea, and Aster waited for two hours in front of the door until the bell rang, although he wondered why his dad could not call them.

Not even they rang, when Aster opened the door. He excused himself that he had heard the elevator ring, and it was definitely not because he was peeking from the peep hole, every five minutes. His father got out of his bedroom wearing faded jeans and a hoodie to greet them and proceeded to show them around the house. On the glass coffee table of the living room already were resting three tea cups and a plate with cookies. Jade's mom had also bought a home-made cake.

"Jade helped me bake it" she said proudly. A small hint of blush appeared on Jade's cheeks, but Aster was impressed. His dad had did not allowed Aster near the kitchen, except for baking toasts; as he was scared the child might hurt himself.

"Wow! You can cook!"

Jade's green eyes shone with excitement.

"It's a chocolate cake!" she added.

"Now kids" Aster's dad interrupted "Why don't you go to play Duel Monsters? Jade, perhaps Aster can lend you a deck".

The children rushed to Aster's room giggling. Elias smiled to himself, Aster wasn't someone who warmed up to strangers easily, but he seemed to get on with Jade just fine. He hoped they remain friends for a long time. Meanwhile, he turned to talk to Jade's parents. He had known Miles for a while, having both worked together at Industrial Illusions for years. Miles and his wife had been present to Elias and Dana's wedding.

"Have you heard?" Miles announced "Kaiba Corp opened a duel academy!".

"A duel academy?" Elias repeated, thoughtful. "Well that's interesting".

"Ruth was telling me about how we could send Jade there when she is older" Miles turned to his wife. "Why don't you send Aster too? It's a good platform to go Pro."

To Elias that sounded more reasonable than Pegasus's proposal. At least, Aster could skip the excessive training and enjoy a few years of a normal life. Perhaps he could think about it.  
"What else have you heard about it?" Elias asked.

"It just opened" Ruth answered. "Classes will begin this September. I've seen pictures!" And she went on to explain how it was built on an island, and had beautiful thermal baths and beaches. It sounded like a very comfortable place to study. "And they plan to divide it into three dorms: Obelisk Blue, the bests of the bests, Ra Yellow, middle level, and Slifer Red, the beginners." Eventhough Elias had a few more years to think about, this Duel Academy seemed like an interesting idea to talk with Aster about it during dinner.

In the meantime, Aster and Jade played in the room.

"Now, i sacrifice a monster to summon Dark Magician Girl (ATK 2000/DEF 1700) and I attack your life points directly!" Aster said as he enthusiastically placed the card on the table. Jade was left with only 600 life points.

"It's not fair!" she said. "You always beat me!"

"It's not over yet!" he encouraged her. "Dont' say its over until one of the player's life points reaches 0, remember that". She decided to use Guardian of the Cemetery (ATK 0/DEF 2000) in face down position, and placed down Castle Walls, which would increase the defense points of her monster if Aster attacked.

"I end my turn, she declared".

Aster did not placed another card besides Dark Magician Girl and choose to attack Jade's monster face down. He was surprised when it was a 2000 defense monster, plus the 500 points from activating the trap card. By attacking, Dark Magician Girl was destroyed, and Aster's points were reduced to 500. Now Jade had the advantage, she played drawed Witch's Apprentice and placed it in attack position (ATK 550/DEF 500), and because her effect, increasing the attack of of dark type monsters by 500, her attack points turned to 1050. She attacked Aster directly, making her the winner.

"Another one!" Aster cried. And thus, another duel, using different decks, begun. While they were dueling, they talked. Exchanging tips and talking about their favourite cards. Suddenly, Jade changed the subject, her eyes were fixed on a picture of Aster and his dad by the night stand, which Aster noticed she was staring. It showed Aster dressed as the Dark Magician with a bag with candy, it seemed to been taken on Halloween of last year.

"Where's your mama, Aster?" she asked shyly.

"Oh" Aster paused "I don't have a mother..." The room was filled with awkward silence, Aster saw that Jade's eyes filled with sorrow, but she added: "But your papa is very nice! He seems to be a great papa".

"I love my papa. And I can't wait to see the new deck he is designing for me. When we finish I can show you some I colored today!"

This time, Jade used a dragon based deck, while Aster used a Hero based deck. They were new cards his dad had bought from the game store, which had not been used yet. Aster liked heroes, and was very excited to try them. The first card he placed was Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (ATK 1200/DEF 800), while Jade placed on the second turn Baby Dragon (ATK 1200/ DEF 700). Aster won this duel with the help of his Elemental Heroes, by fusioning Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Elemental Hero Avian, forming Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK 2100/DEF 1200).

In three duels they had since the day before, Aster had used different strategies: relying on strong defenses, basing his strategy around summoning a strong monster and using polymerization, on his second turn. After finishing, Aster rushed to his father's bedroom to grab the drawings that had been left there. While walking in front his father's office he noticed a white light coming from the inside. A gut feeling kicked in, Aster knew he shouldn't open the door...but he did anyways.

The light was shining so strong that he could barely see. While standing in the room different set of images rushed through his mind. He saw a woman with her hair tied in a black ponytail looking at him coldly, he did not know why, but he felt familiar with the woman. She turned his back on him, and walked away. He tried to stop her, she was going to fall to the water! But before he could say anything, she saw the same woman talking with a young boy wearing a grey cape. His face was not visible, Aster could only see that on his hands were tarot cards; but the child could not figure the conversation. The white light dimmed, and seemed to hide on his dad drawer. Aster was too frightened to see what was inside, so he slammed the door and ran to his father's bedroom.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! See you on the next one :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III **

When Aster woke up, his dad had already left for work. Two loaves of toast were resting on the toaster; Aster only had to pull down the level. Elias had left Aster a note on the counter which read: "_Back at 12._ _Ruth offered to take you to the river side with Jade. Here is the number. Love, Dad :)"_.

Aster looked at the clock: 9:00 am, it was too early to call Jade's house, so he decided to turn on the T.V. A duel between two men was being shown: one of them had black hair and glasses. He looked like a rather normal man, had he not see him duel, Aster would have thought it was an average office worker. It wasn't exactly a very important duel Aster guessed as the stadium was rather empty. Perhaps it was one of those Sub-leagues, and the winners would be able to move to Pro. This man used a zombie type deck, which Aster really enjoyed; but felt the man was misusing.

While this man was rather unknown, the other Aster had seen his face around in some magazines. He was a 20 something duelist who had won almost all the tournaments of the season. His deck consisted of bug-type monsters. The season had just begun, and now was the eliminatory phase to enter into the second part of Dueling Season.

Dueling championships were ongoing, but on different levels: regional, country-wide and international. As well, as the Pro-league championships there were Sub-league championships for people who just started. The sub-league was a way to get oneself known and get access to the big leagues: going Pro. Most people did not bother watching the Sub-leagues, that's why they usually showed them quite early. The Pro-League would start once the Sub-League ended and was a massive event. Everybody was into it: children in schools would talk about the duels, adults would bet on the winners, family gathering would happen. It was a very exciting time, and Aster loved every second of it.

Aster was not exactly sure what to do with his future. Part of him imagined that he would appear like this men on television and duel for a living. Becoming the best, being a professional. Aster was aware that he was a very good duelist. However sometimes his dream cut short: Pro-leagues were very competitive. Only the best of the bests could reach the top. Aster was not sure if being a good duelist and having passion for the game was all it took to become a professional. Besides, he needed a mentor! And mentors did not waste their time with _anybody. _ He was still too young to even take part of the school tournaments as children were allowed to compete since the age of 10.

In the end, the man with the zombie deck lost. The other young duelist mocked his opponent saying:

"Mr. D for Mr. D-efeat, huh? Perhaps duel monsters isn't really your calling!"

Mr. D said nothing and left the stadium.

Aster had not seen much of this Mr. D duelist. His name had appeared on the charts but mostly in low places. Based on what he had seen on TV Mr D seemed to be a very anxious man, and not very confident on his skill. He had done many mistakes on his turns, which Aster felt could have been avoided...He felt a little sorry for him.

Sitting on the sofa while the news played on the background Aster wondered if his dad had continued with the Destiny Heroes. Throughout the weekend Aster had felt a strange presence on his dad office. It was as if _something _did not wanted him there. Or perhaps it was giving him a warning. As much as he wanted to check out the Destiny Heroes again, Aster did not want to go to that room.

He told his father about it. About the strange pressure he felt on his chest, the white light he had seen. But his dad thought that perhaps Aster had eaten too much of the chocolate cake and his hallucinations were a consequence of sugar excess.

"I only ate five pieces. But I tell you Dad, there is something there." Aster tried to defend himself. His dad placed a hand on his son's forehead to check for a fever.

"Perhaps it's the creativity flow!" his dad joked.

But Aster was not convinced. It was definitely something much more sinister, but he was not sure what exactly it was.

. . .

While Elias and Aster had lunch, they mostly talked about the Destiny Heroes. His dad showed him some cards which had already been printed, and once the deck was complete it could be registered as ready to use. Some card where the ones his dad had worked during the weekend: Destiny Hero-Dreadmaster, Destiny Hero-Double Dude, D-Cube. Plus some magic and trap cards which Aster had not seen: Destiny Signal, D-Fortune, Destiny Draw and Dark City.

"So Dark City is a Field Spell" his dad explained. "And with D-Fortune you can save yourself when your opponent uses a direct attack and you have no monsters-"

Aster interrupted.

"I think it would be cool that Dreadmaster was a prisoner. Perhaps he was locked up in a tower or something and it's a way to specially summon Dreadmaster"

His dad smiled, it was a good idea indeed.

"Of course, your deck is not complete. It still does not have its ace monster. I'm sketching some ideas, but its main ability will be to absorb attack points from other monsters...and monster's effects will not affect him!"

Aster gasped.

"Like _plasma_! It's changeable" Elias was not exactly sure where his son got that from, but he liked the sound of it:

"Destiny Hero-Plasma" his father repeated, and they both smiled in agreement.

. . .

Aster did not forget to pack his deck of Elemental Heroes when Ruth picked him up. Aster's town was an hour away from Domino City. Many people lived on this town and commuted everyday to the City. The thing Aster liked most about his town is that it was quite modern and had all facilities, like buildings, shopping malls, cinemas and card stores, but, it had more green spaces compared to Domino.

They headed to the main park, which was a 15 minute ride from Aster's apartment. Particularly in summer it was a very popular spot for families, children and adults alike. Old men would sit by the river fishing and drinking beer, while children would play by the swings. Across the river a bridge stood proudly which was the main route towards Domino City.

Jade's mom commbed her daughter's black hair on a ponytail.

"So it won't get dirty" she explained. Jade seemed rather annoyed by this and as soon as her mom set her free she rushed running with Aster trying to find a good spot for a duel. They decided to join two more kids who were dueling under the shade of a nearby tree.

The older kid looked about 11 years old. With long dark blue hair, he placed a card on the field:

"I place Cyber Dragon in attack position" he said proudly. Aster sensed that Cyber Dragon was this boy most treasured card.

The other boy, a much younger looking child, sighed in disappointment.

"You always beat me Zane…"

The younger child turned in surprise when he noticed they had spectators.

"_Who are you?" _He asked fearful.

Aster showed the kids his deck.

"We couldn't help noticing you were dueling so... what about a tag duel?" He asked finishing with a polite smile.

The older boy looked at them with intrigue.

"I never say no to a duel. The name is Zane, and this is my brother Syrus"

Zane's deck consisted of cyber dragons, while Syrus used Droid type monsters. Aster could see that both decks could complement each other very well, but that was not happening during the duel. Mostly Syrus would place monsters in defense position, while Zane was the one doing all the strategies and combos. To Aster it felt more like a duel against Zane, than against Zane _and_ Syrus.

On the other hand, Jade and Aster did an effort to complement each other. Jade's deck consisted mostly on spellcasters and wizards. Aster had seen Jade with a few different decks but he saw that with this one Jade was the most confident with. Jade placed a Polymerization face down, which was useful for Aster for summoning Elemental Hero Mariner (ATK 1400/DEF 1000), a fusion monster with Elemental Hero Bubbleman and Elemental Hero Avian.

Even though they seemed to have the advantage, Zane was able to summon his Cyber Twin Dragon, which allowed him to attack twice, making him and Syrus team the winner of the duel.

Aster did not like losing, but he had to admit that Zane had provided him with an amazing duel. He doubt he would find a rival quite like him.

"I hope we can duel again!" Aster told Zane excitedly.

Zane smiled and turned to Syrus "We should return with grandma"

He turned to Jade and Aster.

"Maybe we'll meet again" and left.

Aster and Jade walked around the river talking about Zane and his Cyber Dragons deck. It particularly had left a lasting impression on Aster.

"And did you see how he managed to bring back Cyber Dragon to fusion Cyber Twin Dragon? That was amazing! Such a fast recovery!"

Jade agreed. They walked slowly, occasionally grabbing small stones and tossing them to the water.

"Yeah and did you see whe-" Jade's speech was interrupted. "Aster, what is that?"

Both children approached to the river bank were what looked like a white package was resting. But, then they got a closer look, they realized that it was not a white package, it was a woman.

She was dressed completely in white, which with her pale skin made it seem as if she was naked. Her short black hair was tied in a ponytail, and her face was covered in leaves.

"Is she…" Jade asked shyly.

Aster took a closer look. The woman had a golden ring on her left hand. He felt that the ring was important, but as he was about to approach her hand a male voice shouted:

"THIS IS NOT A PLACE FOR KIDS"

They turned and saw an old man followed by police officers. Quite a crowd was gathering around the nameless woman; this was not something that happened everyday.

. . .

When they returned to Aster's home, Dana apologized profusely to Elias.

"I did not know that a _dead body_ would be lying in the river bank!" She cried.

Elias and Miles tried to calm her down.

"Try not to say it to outloud, the kids can hear"

"The kids SAW IT…_her_"

While their parents were discussing on the other room Jade and Aster tried not to think about what they had seen on the afternoon. Even if Jade kept changing the subject, Aster could not help but wonder, who was this woman?

"Aster! Are you listening?" Jade looked at him curious.

"I think there is something hiding in my dad's bedroom" he said suddenly. Jade looked at him confused. There was no turning back, Aster thought, he had to tell someone about it. He went on to explain: the white light, the pressure on his chest, the visions…

"And I saw a woman who looked like this woman we found walking towards a river" he finished. Aster sighed and looked at the floor. Jade placed her small hand on top of his:

"I believe you."

With a new found confidence, Aster asked Jade to see the room with him. Perhaps if she could see it, and they both told his dad about it, he would not think that his son was imagining stuff. They tipped toed towards his dad's office, meanwhile they could hear their parents having a rather loud argument.

"Let's just try to keep this away from the kids, it was quite traumatizing enough" Elias scofled.

"But Elias, what does it take you? Just call the police and ask. I swear I think it was-" Ruth pleaded. Elias interrupted her.

Aster stopped for a brief second. He had never seen or heard his dad being angry. He knew he should not be peeking and had been taught not to listen to adult conversations, but he had to know.

"Ruth, it is final. We will not talk about this!" Aster heard his dad slam his hand on the table.

Aster felt Jade pushing him towards his dad's office. Once they were inside, Aster felt a strange sense of calmness. Everything was quiet, _too quiet_ for Aster's likening. He was nervous, but somehow Jade's presence reassured him. She wouldn't protect him, Aster would not put her in danger, but if at least, she could see something…

"Well...it's a lovely room!" Jade broke the silence. She walked towards Elias' desk and started looking at the papers. If perhaps it was another person Aster would have felt a sense of anger of someone just casually revising his dad's work, but Jade already had a peek of the Destiny Heroes. His dad had not told him to keep it a secret, but he did not want to tell a lot of people about it, just in case.  
"These cards look awesome!" she gasped. Aster was still standing by the door frame. Jade was just casually walking around looking at the desk, the books and some photographs; it made Aster rather nervous. His dad did not like people looking at his stuff, but Jade didn't seem to get the memo.

"Come on Aster! We need to investigate!" she encouraged him. He liked Jade's sense of adventure, but he felt he she didn't understand it was a real thing, something could happen to her. Jade opened the drawers of her dad's desk and removed the pencils and paperwork that was inside. But, there was one drawer locked. She told Aster about it who approached it with caution.

"It's locked" Aster concluded.

"I think something important is here…"Jade removed one of her bobby pins and started moving it inside the keyhole while explaining to Aster that she had seen this stuff on the TV and was 100% sure what she was doing.

"I don't think its-"

Before Aster could finish Jade was able to open it. Inside, a single gold ring rested. Jade anxiously took it before Aster could tell her anything.

"It says Dana Phoenix" she read.

"_What? _Give me that!" Aster took the ring from Jade's hand.

The second his fingers touched it he got the well known feeling: the pressure on his chest, the blinding white light…

He dropped the ring on the floor and placed it at the bottom, filling it up with paper. Never again he would touch that thing.

* * *

**I'm alive! Just been super busy. Basically we have elections this year, on June are the primaries and I'm volunteering for one of the political parties here; so my head is mostly in politics! **

**To be completley honest when i first started this story I imagined it would go in one direction, mostly focused on the Destiny Heroes, but now adding more mystery/supernatural elements haha. **

**Hope you enjoy it! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV**

Dana Phoenix. If she had the same surname as him they were definitely related, Aster thought. Nothing came to mind, he had never heard it. When it was time for bed Aster asked his father about it.

"Who is Dana Phoenix?"

He felt his father tense up.

"Where did you get that from?"

Aster blushed. He didn't want to tell his father about how he and Jade had been looking around his office. He knew his dad would be disappointed.

Aster's dad was looking at him expectantly. The tension was rising, finally Aster sighed.

"We...I found a ring in your desk"

"Aster…" Elias said. Asted could feel the disappointment in his voice. His eyes turned icy, his face was stern. "Why were looking around?" he finished.

"Dad...I...there is something in your room. I told you! _I've seen the light!_"

"_What did you say?"_ his father snaped. Aster was starting to regret this. Perhaps he could forget everything, about the white light, the woman from the river, about Dana...

"Aster, I asked you a _question_." his dad was waiting. He had never seen his dad like this. A sense of guilt washed over him. Aster went over to explain everything: the presence in his dad's office, about the vision of a woman dressed in white walking towards the river. His dad was having none of it.

"Good night, Aster" his father said tiredly. He didn't told Aster how disappointed he was or hurt he was of going over his stuff, but it was not needed; Aster perfectly knew that he felt those things.

"I'm sorry dad, I'm scared. I want to protect you!" he tried to tell him. But his father left the room, and Aster began to cry.

. . .

Elias did not feel like going over his office. Instead, he went towards the kitchen to grab a pack of cigarettes. He didn't usually smoke, at least not in front of Aster. His right hand was shaking and sighed. Maybe he had been too tough on Aster. It was his _mother_ and Aster was not a dumb kid. He knew he must have or had a mother; kids don't just pop up from the earth without a mother. Jade's dad had warned him. He had told Elias that he should not hide Dana from Aster in order to avoid...well, _this_ mess. Elias had done everything: burned photos, donate clothes and belongings, and he should have sold that ring...

Aster was four years old when Dana left. Elias had begged her to reconsider, they had a family after all, she couldn't just leave them _like this_. Dressed in white Dana grabbed her suitcase. She turned to Elias once more:

"It's my mission. Why can't you understand that?" And just like that, she left.

Dana had been going on about this supposed mission for the past months. It started small. Meetings after work, then changing her wardrobe and finally changing her whole personality. And he had seen the type of people Dana was hanging with, which to Elias, it seemed like a bunch of delusional people dressed completely in white.

"Isn't there so much darkness in the world?" Dana wondered hopelessly. "White is such a pure color. Why can't we start anew?" she asked Elias one day. "Getting rid of pain, of sorrow...just _light_". She smiled satisfied.

"So now the group of delusional people had a name," Elias thought, _The Society of Light _. And Dana was eager for him to join.

"When you see the light, you will understand" she explained in her soft spoken voice. She sounded so tender, so genuine, that Elias almost thought of paying a visit to her meetings. But what about Aster? Would they both run off to some cult while Aster was left in foster care? Dana had a strong stance of Aster _NOT_ being part of all of this.

"Dana, we have a child, if you _remember_" After four months of being part of the Society of Light, Elias felt that Dana had completely forgotten about Aster.

"Aster Phoenix is dangerous for the Society of Light's existence" she answered coldly. The way she said it she sounded more like a robot, rather than she generating that thought by herself. In all honesty, even Elias couldn't understand very well what they wanted. He tried to reason with Dana. About how _Darkness and Light_, both forces that together form a whole; and how one could not be without the other. But Dana did not seem to understand his reasoning. She just repeated lines which to Elias seemed to be fed by someone else to justify the good of the Light.

And now, somehow, four years later Aster repeated _those_ same words: "_I've seen the light_". He thought that after Dana left them in order to spread the good of the Light throughout the world, that was it. No more strange lights or Societies, just him and Aster enjoying a normal life. Elias _had_ to finish the Destiny Heroes, he had to protect Aster from the Society of Light. Aster was starting to show the same pattern as his mother, first talking about visions, then about the light... And being angry at Aster was not the way to prevent him from joining the Light. Perhaps if he had been there for Dana, if he had not been busy working so much, the fate with Dana could have been avoided. He made sure not to repeat the same mistake with his son. Elias rushed to Aster's bedroom and slammed the door open. But thankfully, his son was there.

The smell of chocolate woke up Aster the next morning. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was his dad holding a piece of chocolate cake and a mug of tea.

"It's not my birthday" Aster thought out loud. Elias face turned to a pained expression. But, he probably deserved the cold treatment.

"I'm very sorry about yesterday, Aster" he apologized.

"I'm scared, Dad. There is something in your office. I've seen and felt things, I don't want to go back inside there." he began explaining. "And I thought that if i went there with Jade, then we would be safe. And it's not Jade's fault, even if she opened the drawer, I was the one who told her to investigate." It sounded like a confession. Elias was silent and allowed Aster to continue.

"And I've seen things. I saw a woman walking towards a river, the day before we actually saw a woman resting on the river bank _dead_. And they looked very similar. I'm not saying i've seen the future I just-" Aster stopped and looked up to his dad's blue eyes. His dad hugged him. And Aster hugged him back.

. . .

Elias took the elevator with Miles when he arrived to the Industrial Illusions building. "I'm very sorry about yesterday" Jade's dad apologized. "Jade was telling me that Aster has been seeing things in your room and they went to investigate…"

"Its okay, Miles" Elias answered.

He nodded, and Miles patted him in the shoulder. He turned over to the other man, it seemed he wanted to say something, but was struggling.

"Whatever you have to say Miles, you can say it" he said sharply.

When Miles finally got the courage to speak, the elevator doors opened. "Perhaps in the break" Elias concluded and went over his desk.

Industrial Illusions had a rather horizontal hierarchy. It was run by Maximillion Pegasus but he was available in most cases. He was reachable and sometimes would even make random visits to the office to check out his employees work. Elias was able to explain his idea of the Destiny Heroes to Pegasus for him to allow him to convert it into a playable deck. In the meeting Pegasus was rather distressed:

"Phoenix-boy!" he cried dramatically. "That is a wonderful gift for a son...I even wish I was your son to get a deck as good as this!". It was a rather uncomfortable meeting, much to Elias' likining. Pegasus had a rather flamboyant personality. He insisted again on meeting Aster. "I would love to have a duel with Aster-boy, with his new deck! I'm always up for a challenge"

Elias was sketching ideas for Destiny Hero-Plasma when Miles patted his shoulder. "Care to join me for a smoke?" he asked holding up to cigarettes. Miles dark hair was parted in the middle, and was impeccably combed. They both had really good salaries, but while Elias choose to dress more discreet, Miles was someone who did not mind showing off brand suits and polished new shoes every month. Miles hit the butt of cigarette on the palm of his hand while he explained:

"Ruth was quite distressed after the kids found the dead body and I slept in the sofa while Jade slept in our bed."

"Can we let go of the dead body already?" Elias snapped.

"Look, I want to stop it too, okey? But Ruth…"

"What's the matter with Ruth?"

"Ruth is convinced it was _her_, Elias. She had a ring."

"There are many woman who jump to the river with wedding rings on their fingers, Miles".

Miles insisted:

"What does it take you? Call the police, and ask, if the woman has been identified. Ruth has the number of one of the polices officers." He gave Elias a few coins and pointed at the telephone booth standing near them.

. . .

Aster jumped from the sofa when he heard the phone ring. When he answered he realized it was his father.

"Aster, it's daddy. I can't go home today...but you can take the bus to Jade's, can't you? It's easy, the bus stop is the one on the other side of the road, you take bus 217, and you count 10 stops. I will pick you up from their house. Okey, love you, bye!" His father spoke so fast that it took Aster a few moments to understand what he said. It was the first time that he was taking the bus by himself; not that he used the bus that much, mostly walking or allowing his father to drive him around. But it was exciting, it were small steps towards independence. He imagined being older and his father allowing him to take trips to the seaside with Jade. And Jade seemed to be able to take care of herself, so he had to learn fast.

. . .

When Aster opened the garden door he was met with a huge white house, surrounded by green fields. Jade lived in the more residential neighbour and there were no buildings around. He recognized the house, because of its name, "Vanilla Cupcake", and before giving two steps inside, a large dog laped on top of him. When he opened his eyes a caramel akita was looking at him with curiosity.

"Ollie, STOP" Jade shouted as she called the dog. "We talked about this-don't jump on people! I'm so sorry, Aster. He likes greeting people, hope he didn't scare you!" she turned to give a kiss the animal. He approached the dog and patted its head. The animal seems to enjoy it and licked his hand. It was calm, a nice feeling. The great thing about houses, he thought, was the possibility to fit many pets.

Jade's family seemed to have travelled a lot. He noticed many artifacts hanging on the walls and bookshelves. The girl kept explaining the origins and funny anecdotes related to the items.

"So this is from Italy, my parents went during their honeymoon, isn't it neat?" She explained about the gold bird-like Venice carnival mask. With every artefact, she would add a fun fact about the country, like something about the population number or the flag, or a well known character which Aster "should definitely know of". To him it seemed rather useless trivia, but still he listened quietly and nodded constantly. Jade's enthusiasm was almost overwhelming, but in a good way. It was an excitement for things and life that was almost contagious. Her sense of adventure, her self assurance, she didn't seem to care what other people thought of her. And he liked it. He actually felt quite comfortable with her as well. He felt he could be himself, and she even believed him when he explained about his dad's office. He could call her, well, a "friend".

At lunch they discussed about what they would do as "grownups". She asked the same question, that was on his mind, the question of going Pro.

"Well, I promise, when you turn Pro I will see your every match! But you must not forget me when you become famous. I'm the original _best friend._"

"And what will you do?"

"I will go to Duel Academy!" she announced "I want to be a card designer just like daddy, but I need to know _everything_ about duel monsters in order to be the best and most original." Her green eyes shone bright. "OH, and you could try my decks as well. It would make me very famous too!"

They both laughed imagining that future. It sounded quite ideal for Aster. She noticed Jade's mom quietly listening to their conversation and smiling. He wondered what was she thinking. But the mood changed when Jade brought another topic:

"So...do we know who Dana is?"

There was an awkward pause.

"I know we are related but, when I asked dad he was very upset"

"You think it's your...mother?" Jade wondered out loud.

"I don't know, it could be. I never seen my mom. I don't even know her name!"

. . .

Elias hated bureaucracy. Even if he had an office job, the bureaucracy of state run institutions was something he despised. Just to talk to a single police officer, that he had to wait in line for an hour, be revised, show his identification, have a twenty minutes conversation with the man in question and go to the morgue. The police officer had told him that by the next day the body of the woman in the river would be donated to medical students to further research, as no one had claimed the body. He reassured Elias that it was very kind of him to check if he recognized the woman, in order to avoid such fate. He expected to finish after six, but, it was almost eight o clock and they were just reaching the morgue. The police officer bought with him the ring found on the woman on a small plastic bag. Finally, Elias thought to himself once they doors opened. He put on a nurse mask and latex gloves and went over to the room were the body was resting.

. . .

Nine o'clock. And his dad was still not picking him up. Aster was beginning to get worried. Miles was already back home, and he assured Aster that there was no problem of him staying over for dinner. The man explained that Elias was stuck in a meeting with Pegasus about the Destiny Heroes.  
"And you know Pegasus, he is rather talkative" he joked. Maximillion Pegasus, the man who brought duel monsters to the XXI century. He was definitely someone Aster wanted to meet, and duel one day. He sat in front of Jade and began having another duel, when they heard the dog barking. Aster saw Ollie being accompanied by his father who was standing at the door frame.

"Had fun?" his dad asked cheerfully. And went over to hug his son. They stayed an extra hour as Jade's parents talked with Elias. The voyage home was rather quiet, Elias was very serious focusing on the incoming traffic.

"The ring your found in my office was your mother's" he said suddenly. Aster was definitely not expecting such a confession in a car. So his mother had a name. Dana Phoenix. Aster didn't think much about his mom. All his life he had lived with his father, and life was good. But, it was nice to know a few things about her. It was the first time, at least from what Aster remembered, that his father acknowledged his mother's existence.

"How was she?" Aster turned to his dad with hopefulness.

"We were good friends with Ruth and Miles. We've been to each others weddings, you know?" That was not exactly the answer to Aster's question. He thought perhaps it would be better to allow his father speak at his own pace. But he said nothing else.

The car stopped. They had finally reached Aster's building. Once the car was parked in the garage his dad turned to face him as Aster unlocked his seat belt.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner". Aster thought it was not a good idea to question his father's motives. Perhaps Dana had not been a nice mother after all, and that's why he didn't want to raise his son's expectations. He gave it a thought, and assured his father that he understood him.

* * *

**Dear reader, yep you may get two notifications. Sorry! I've submited the wrong document. **

**The main reason this chapter was updated so quickly was because part of it was written while writing chapter 3. I mostly cut them to not make reading so tiresome. **

**Hope you all like it! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V**

Elias stayed all night working on the Destiny Heroes. And while he sketched he thought carefully. What would he tell Aster? It started with her name, would he explain about the Society of Light? About her supposedly affair? He didn't want Aster to idolize his mother. He started sketching irrational lines. This issue with Dana was affecting his creativity. He looked fearful at the last drawer.

It was just a goddamned wedding ring, not a monster from the underworld, he reassured himself. He took a deep break, and stared at it.

The golden ring looked as new as ever. The cursive handwriting was still clear. He thought that the ring could probably fit his finger still. In a moment of grief, he thought of selling it, but Miles had warned him about what a foolish mistake that would be.

"Elias, it is not healthy to pretend she never existed."

Dana was lonely. And it broke Elias heart when she explained that she felt in a lonely and loveless marriage. But after the Society of Light her attitude changed. She seemed hopeful, but in a rather sinister way. Aster would definitely ask more questions. Any child would. Elias had hid his mother for four years and now unexpectedly, he was talking about her? Of course for Aster that would be traumatic.

Elias finally placed the ring on his finger. It fit. It felt like home; like a home from a long time ago. He felt sorrow, the image of Dana's slim silhouette walking out their lives haunted him. He remembered the letters he had found, the constant fighting...How a marriage could go down the drain just like that? Suddenly the bed started to feel empty, both of them sleeping facing opposite directions.

But the ring of course happier memories. Had Elias not imagined spending his life with Dana he would not have married her. Their first secret meetings, behind Dana's mother back. Small quick kisses in her bedroom while her mother stomped every five minutes to make sure they were behaving.

Miles wedding with Ruth came first. He did not remember much of it, only the stupid amount of alcohol involved in that party and one particular moment were Dana grabbed Ruth's flower bouquet when she threw it. Drunkenly, he approached her, and whispered, very softly so only she could hear: "The following year is our turn".

Elias noticed he was crying when a single drop fell into the desk. It had been a while since he last cried. He remembered crying in his wedding with Dana, and bawling his eyes out when Aster was born; but he did not cry when Dana left them. It was...strange. It was as if all feelings had been drained from him. No joy when he saw his son learning a new word, no pleasure in working were he loved, nothing.

It was late, but he had to try. He dialed Mile's number and he answered right away. "I'm so sorry, for calling in so late" he apologized. It was the first time he cried over Dana after four years.

. . .

It had been a while since Aster had a shaky night. He kept moving from side to side. Last time he had a nightmare was after watching that movie about the lady who popped out of the television. He dreamt that night that the lady popped out from one of his cards. But this dream was different.

He was once again on the river bank. He saw the lady walking dangerously close to the shore. She was looking up at the bridge. Dressed completely in white, she noticed Aster's presence. He rushed towards her side.

"Whatever you think of doing, don't do it. Let me help you". She sighed in relief.

"That is kind of you, Aster. But I made a terrible mistake."

"How do you know my name?" he shouted. But she was long gone. The scene changed, he saw a man dressed completely in black with his face covered talking to his father at his office. They were arguing. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it seemed intense. The man in black pushed his father. He tried to intervene, but it seemed he was invisible.

A white light blinded him, and the scene changed. He was in a white room which in the center had a small circular table. A man with a grey cloak was looking at a duel monsters deck. Only when he got close he realized, those were the Destiny Heroes. In front of the table a young teen dressed in a white suit was looking down expectantly.

"The wheels of fate are already moving, Aster."

Little Aster was shocked. It was...himself? But older. That meant...his father did finish his Destiny Heroes.

"I already lost once because you told me to. Do you know how embarrassing that is? My career is on the line!" the older Aster from his vision answered sharply. Career? Was this a vision from the future? Did actually Aster made it to the Pro-leagues?

"_But you will win this time_. It is necessary, Aster. Destiny is always on our side"

The older version of himself was standing in front of a pristaline Arena. It was rather empty, but little Aster could not see who was his older self opponent. He tipped toed around, but it was useless. It was as if a veil was preventing him from seeing what was in front of him. He saw he had a duel disk. He opened the duel. .

"I'll start things moving" he told his opponent. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense position!". And he saw the monster appear in front of them kneeled down. That was much cooler than playing table duels against Jade he thought. He could not see his opponent, but he or she summoned a fusion monster Elemental Hero Flame Wingman which attacked his Clayman and himself directly. Older Aster attacked back: by using the same monsters he summoned, Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer. Now that's something, little Aster had not seen. His older self definitely was very good at dueling. Using the same fusion materials to summon another monster? And his opponent was using a hero deck as well?

Little Aster _had _to keep watching. His Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer attacked Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, but his older self's monster was not destroyed in battle.

"Our decks are similar, not equal" his older self told his opponent in a mocking tone. "The cards reflect who we are, like a mirror." He could not hear what his opponent said, he only saw his older self shrug "Whatever, my deck is still better".

His Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer was not destroyed, but he felt the damage after being attacked by Elemental Hero Tempest. When he drew from his deck he declared:

"What a coincidence..._polymerization!" _By fusioning Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer and Sparkman, he summoned Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer. Little Aster thought this Phoenix combinations were neat, he hoped he remembered all of this, and upgrade his deck when he woke up...His trail of thoughts was interrupted when his older self declared an attack on Elemental Hero Tempest. He placed down a face down, and ended his turn.

Aster wished he was taller, first, to look what was beyond his older self, who was he facing? And second, he wanted to see his older self cards. Even if he probably would not hear him, he could advise himself on what to do. In his opponent's turn, Aster's Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer was destroyed by Elemental Hero Shining Wingman.

"You think this is a joke?" his older self snapped. "This isn't about fun, at least not for me!"

Little Aster was not liking this. If one thing he knew about dueling was the fun and joy it brought to him. And specially when his father showed him new cards...Little Aster wanted to get _out_ and fast.

"I duel for justice, and revenge...And i was _destined to build this deck_" he declared as he revealed his face down card, D-Time. Aster's eyes sparked with curiosity...was that...was that a Destiny Hero card?

Suddenly, the scene was vanishing. Was he waking up? He didn't want to wake up, just not yet, he couldn't… When his eyes opened, he was back in his room.

He run towards his dad's office but saw him he was sleeping on the sofa. He wondered what he was doing there. When he approached closely, he noticed he had the golden ring found in his office. His dad woke up in a jump. When he noticed his son staring, Elias quickly placed the ring back into his pocket.

"Good morning, little one!"

"Daddy! I dreamt I became pro! And with the Destiny Heroes!" He decided to omit the part of the dream were he talked with the lady on the river and the man discussing with his father. Still, he was rather uncomfortable from seeing his older self. That's...not how he imagined himself to be. But Elias did not notice, and instead, brought from his office a bunch of papers. Aster gasped.

His destiny deck was almost complete. Just a few retouches with color and sketching, his father had explained, but in regards of attack points and side effects they were finished. Aster was in awe. Destiny Hero Celestial, Destiny Hero Drilldark, Destiny Hero Dogma, Destiny Hero Doom Lord, Destiny Hero Dasher, Dreadmaster, Dread Servant, Clock Tower Prison, Destiny Draw, Destiny Signal, D-chain, D-Time, D-Cube…

And finally, the ace of his deck: Destiny Hero-Plasma. He read his abilities written with pencil:

"_Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned_ _(from your hand) by Tributing_ _3 monsters. Negate_ _the effects_ _of face-up_ _monsters while your opponent controls them. Once per turn: You can target_ _1 monster your opponent controls; equip_ _that target to this card (max. 1). This card gains ATK_ _equal to half the original ATK_ _of the monster equipped to it by this effect."_

Aster hugged his dad and told him a million times how thankful he was. Aster anxiously rushed to call Jade. A sleepy voice answered him.

"My Destiny Hero Deck is ready!" he shouted, before the girl even spoke.

"That's" Jade yawned "great!"

"Shall we go to the park? We _need _to have a duel! Now!" Aster's right leg was shaking.

"Yes...yes…" the girl answered slowly.

The waiting was too long for Aster's likening. Ruth agreed to pick them up and take them to the park. It was the same one were they found the body. This time, they stayed far away from the river bank. Jade brought her deck of spellcasters and wizards, while Aster bought the pieces of paper.

"You said it was ready!" Jade said disappointed.

"They are _ready_" he scoffed.

"The rule book says that we are only allowed to use cards which are made available by Industrial Illusions. A duel disk would not be able to read-"

"_Yeah_, yeah. But do you have a duel disk now, Miss?" he answered in a mocking tone. When she shook her head he added, "Well me neither!" He stuck out his tongue.

Jade giggled and finally agreed much to Aster's likening. He told himself that once the deck was printed the second person to touch it, besides himself would be her.

"Well, I start" Aster placed the piece of paper which contained the drawing of Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400) in attack position. "I end my turn" he said triumphantly. It was Jade's turn. "I draw" she announced. She played Toy Magican (ATK 1600/DEF 1400).

It was Aster's turn again. His "cards" were rather uncomfortable and flexible. They were A4 pieces of paper. He placed Destiny Hero Drilldark (ATK 1600/DEF 1200). Because of its effect (If this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Destiny HERO" monster from your hand with ATK less than or equal to this card's ATK on the field.), he was able to summon another Destiny Hero Drilldark.

"It's your turn" he crossed his arms confidently. Jade activated her magic card Dark Magic Veil, which by sacrificing a 1000 Life Points was able to summon Dark Magician Girl. "Now", she declared confidently "My Dark Magician girl will attack your Destiny Hero Drilldark!", she choose not to attack a second monster with Toy Magician. Jade's points were in 3000, while Aster's was in 3600. Now it was the boy's turn. He placed Destiny Hero Doom Lord in attack, activating its effect, and vanished Dark Magican Girl for two turns. He placed down the trap card D-Shield, which would save him is Jade was going to attack Destiny Hero Doomlord.

In Jade's turn, she placed the spellcaster Skilled Dark Magician (ATK 1900/ DEF 1700), and declared an attack to Destiny Hero-Doomlord.

"I won't let you do that" he answered while he activated his trap. Destiny Hero-Doomlord changed to defense position and was not destroyed in battle.

In Aster's next draw he finally had Destiny Hero-Plasma on his hand. He giggled nervously, his palm was sweating. "I sacrifice three monsters and-" the piece of paper flew from his hand. He started run towards, while Jade called his name. Before crossing the street he saw the paper being picked up by a man with dark hair and glasses. He was sure he had seen the man before.

"Sir! Sir!" Aster shouted. The man had the piece of paper in his hand and was looking at it with curiosity. He was wearing a black suit, and to Aster, he looked rather depressed. "That's mine!" he declared.

The man gave the piece of paper back.

"Thank you" Aster answered with a smile. But he stopped and looked at him briefly. "I'm...I'm sorry...have I've seen you before?"

"The name is Daniel, or Mr.D for short." He kneeled in front of the child. "So you are a duelist huh? And what would your name be?"

"My name is Aster Phoenix" he answered with confidence. "Yes, and my daddy is a card designer! This cards are very important for me!"

"Phoenix...it rings a bell. Well, tell your dad he did a very good job!"

The boy shook Mr.D's hand. It was as if an electric shock run over him. He wondered what it meant, perhaps this meeting was meant to happen.

Aster run back to Jade, and continued their duel. Ruth patted him in the head and said: "Aster, don't run off like that!"

. . .

While Ruth went over to the counter to buy the kids pastries Aster asked suddenly:

"Jade, what do you think duels are for?" He saw the girl hesitant, but Aster thought that at this point she should be used to his random shocking statements out of the blue. But it felt easy, while his father any adult would try to ask him the typical "where does that come from?" and try to teach him a moral lesson, Jade would simply answer.

The answer she gave him disappointed Aster a bit.

"Well...make friends, test your abilities, improve…" which to Aster all seemed kind of random nice words put together. It's not that he was expecting a philosophical argument coming from an 8 year old but…

He refused his question:

"Why do _you _duel?"

"Because I...like it?"

It was so simple yet so...Aster couldn't find the word. But, wasn't that the reason Aster dueled as well? Because he liked it? Because he had fun? Did duels really needed to have a much deeper meaning? Why did professionals duel? He had seen interviews, mostly talked about the passion and the thrill.

"Do you think you can duel for..._bad_ reasons?" he asked shyly.

"What is a _bad_ reason?" she questioned him.

"Well...I don't know. You do it because you are angry, or because you want _revenge_. Do you think revenge is bad?"

Ruth chimed followed by the waitress. The waitress placed two chocolate milkshakes in front of each kid, and a tea kettle in front of the third chair.

"Why don't you ask mom the same question?" Jade asked. If Aster had longer legs he would definitely have kicked her behind the table, but he was only able to touch her leg with the sole of his shoe. And while Aster blushed focusing on his straw, Jade explained almost half the conversation.

"Why would you bring bad stuff to something good?" Ruth questioned. And there it was, Aster thought. He wondered if Jade had told her parents other conversations they had. He would definitely talk with her about it later.

"I think revenge leads to nowhere" Ruth declared while sipping her tea cup. Aster would try to remember that.

. . .

After work, Elias went to the funeral home. While the man was busy showing him the most expensive caskets, his pocket felt heavy, but not because of the money he would spend on it. Of course, he would not bring Aster to this. Elias wondered what was the fuss with all this. Just a simple brown one, perhaps with a plachete, and off to the cemetery. No ceremony, no nothing.

The ring was still on the plastic wrap that the police officer had given him. And it had stayed all night in his front pocket of his jacket. He was unsure if he should place the ring on her finger, it was a rather macabre thought.

"So...it is a lady, is she your wife?" the salesman asked Elias.

"No...well…" he paused "it's not".

After choosing a simple casket, he went to the flower shop. He picked up some yellow narcissus, which were quite fitting considered she used to have a rather big ego at times. Well, both of them had. It was one of the other reasons of their failing marriage; but it was definitely something that with counseling could have been avoided. Part of Elias was hating all this ordeal: caskets, the paperwork, taking the body to the cemetery...Who knew such a long ordeal would happen whenever a person died! Miles had offered help; she was his friend after all. He wondered if Ruth already knew about this.

They placed the body in the casket, one last chance to throw the plastic bag. He held it tight in his pocket as he saw the casket being lowered down on the ground. He noticed the empty spot next to it, and it occurred to him that he could buy it...or maybe that would be two weird. He still had some time to think about it.

He was not happy she was dead. Death is never nice. But still, he felt rather awkward there. It was as being in the divorce court, but just way worse. He should not be there. And definitely more people should been there as well. He wondered what had actually happened to her. Probably, he would never find it out.

The placket was placed where she rested.

"Goodbye, Dana"

Ruth was the first to call it, she recognized it first. And probably she had talked with Miles about it all night, that he started to believe it too. It's just Elias hoped that it was just Ruth being nostalgic...or at least wrong. Seeing the body at the morgue was not something he had wish to seen in a million years. They always say the dead look like they are sleeping; but Dana did not look like it. She looked...well, dead. Her white face, covered in green and brown spots probably from laying in the ground, her bruised knees...and still, wearing that damned white dress.

At least for Elias, wherever Dana was she would be free from the Society of Light. But this was not the way to solve things. Why would she go to such an extreme? She could at least called, or, try talk things out. But it didn't need to end like this.

And now the question was how to tell Aster about it.

* * *

**The advantage of being sick is having actually time to write! If you guys wanted to see Aster interact with his mom (besides flashback or dreams)...I'm sorry D: **

**To be 100% this is something I had kinda crafted since the beguining. At first it was quite a question of what to do with his mom and I thought, she could simply have abandoned them, but it felt rather...meh. **

** But then, after this idea occured I was like "okey should the reader find out through Aster or Elias?" I guess it's kinda a strange situation in which one of the main character knows, the reader knows, but the other main character doesn't; which at first I thought it would be weird.**

**And because I'm anxious I decided to solve this subplot quite soon. I didn't want this being dragged over too long. **

**Hope you like it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI **

Aster was excited for his trip with Jade to Kaibaland. He had been there with his father but the prospect of going with a friend of his age seemed much more exciting. Both of their families decided it would be a fun weekend activity to spend saturday at the theme park and watch the first match of the Pro-League season. They arrived early, just as the doors for Kaibaland opened but they new that after lunch the place would be packed with people. Even at that time, more than fifty people were already in line waiting expectantly. The match was going to start at 7 in the afternoon, so they had plenty of time to roam around freely.

Kaibaland was a huge theme park. Originally it was an indoor park but with the growth of popularity for duel monsters it was changed to an open-air one. The KaibaCorp building was placed in front and was a 50 story glass building filled with offices. Paying a VIP ticket one could visit the KaibaCorp building and enjoy some exclusive attractions that were inside. The Phoenix household decided that with Kaibaland was more than enough. It already had plenty of attractions to entertain them until the duel started. The park had rollercoasters, gift shops, virtual reality simulators, ferris wheels, restaurants and other rides designed after Duel Monsters. What is more, children could take pictures with some of the Monsters themselves. The two most popular characters were of course, Blue Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician, even though Dark Magician was rather difficult to find. To Aster it gave the impression that it was not an arbitrary decision, afterall, Dark Magician was known to be the ace card of Seto Kaiba's main rival, Yugi. Compared to the exposition that Blue Eyes White Dragon had, Dark Magician was mostly tossed aside. Even his companion, Dark Magician Girl was seen much more frequently and had even a ride dedicated to her. There was also the Kaibaman show which was a 20 minute interactive play with special effects that was very popular among children.

While the parents sat to have some coffee, the children were allowed to roam around -but not too far-. Aster found it a little strange, but his dad told him they were having a very boring and grown-up conversation. Aster thought that he could contribute to something still, he wondered when he would finally be able to join adult conversations. On the other hand, Jade seemed relieved, she had no interest in adult conversations and was excited for the prospect of roaming Kaibaland freely without adult supervision. A few meters from the coffee shop, a small violet tent caught their eye of the kids. It was empty and nobody seemed to pay attention to it. It was rather simple compared to the more lavish attractions. A blackboard with chalk cursive handwriting read "Fortune Teller: come inside". Jade was the one who grabbed Aster by the arm and made him go inside.

It was small, but very tidy. The smell of vanilla covered the whole room. Aster was surprised to find two young kids inside the shop, they seemed to be the ones who were managing it. The girl had black hair and a white kimono, she seemed to be around Aster's and Jade's age. The other one, a little bit older, was a little more extravagant: long purple hair with a white steak in the middle, very pale skin and dark violet eyes. He was sitting in a small round table, two free seats were resting in front of them.

Aster tried to stop Jade, but she was already sitting in one of the chairs. Aster sighed and much slowly walked towards the other chair. Aster crossed his arms expectantly as the purple haired boy shuffled the cards and spread them on the table. Jade was a very chatty girl, she seemed to be very comfortable with the fortune teller. She introduced them, and the fortune teller introduced himself back:

"I am Sartorius, and this is my sister, Serena". The black haired girl nodded. But she seemed not very interested and instead was polishing a round mirror.

Sartorius went on to explain:

"Now, you will grab three cards. The first one represents your past, the second one your present and the third, your future". All the cards were face down.

Once Jade separated three cards, Sartorius revealed them and proceeded to explain to the girl:

"Ah, The Wheel of Fortune, face up. Privileged bring up, I see?" Jade blushed.

"You grew up in wealth...You are a very lucky girl. But, fortune comes and goes. Your parents worked very hard for it, and they are still very successful people. But perhaps, you felt they worked too much, many times wondering if they had completely forgotten about you...But, the Wheel of Fortune represents life cycles as well. Like a wheel, life goes round and round...You now luck won't last forever."

Jade was very silent, and Sartorious warned her:

"You realize that wealth does not buy affection." Jade looked down at the card without saying nothing. She did not raised her head when Sartorius spoke again. It had never occured to Aster that perhaps she had some things going on as well. It had never occurred to her to ask her how she was; she always looked so happy! It made sense why Jade was so practical in taking care of herself.

He then revealed the second card, "The Hanged man, upside".

"Very interesting" he paused. "You always had the will to fight. You always fought for what you wanted, and you are used to things going your way. Eventhough you've been conditioned to get things handed to you on a silver plate, you always had the spirit of a fighter. You want to feel as if you earned it. But this card's message is to surrender. I see some big changes within your daily life, and you need to accept them. It is part of growing up, you see?". He was staring at Jade with pity, and declared "Now, the _future_"

Jade was already holding her breath when the boy revealed the last card. He smiled pleased:

"The Empress! Destiny has good things planned for your future!" Jade sighed relieved and Sartorious proceeded:

"You see, when face up, it symbolizes femininity and fertility...which right now you do not see it; but, when you grow older, you will see it's importance. Abundance, and deep connection with your heart is what will leap you forward. And with patience, you can allow the things you want grow. It is a great card for a young girl like you".

Sartorius faced to Aster and gave him the same instructions. The first card revealed was The Fool faced up:

"A very happy childhood. You hesitated taking this card, I can see things surrounding your environment where not as happy as they seemed. Nevertheless, a free spirited and creative child you are. Like your friend, you also grew up in wealth, but...that doesn't seem to be your defining characteristic? A single dad, but a home filled with affection"

He nodded rather awkwardly, and Sartorius continued.

The card revealed was Death.

Aster felt a chill running down his spine, and it did not helped when Jade whispered: "Wow! that's so creepy". The tarot reader could see both children got scared.

"Death is very frightening: it is the end of things, and we know deep down it is inevitable. But, Aster, Death is one of the most powerful cards of the Major Arcanas. The card of Death represents transformation. It is the end of things, but new beginnings. You will not be ready when it happens, no one is. We should never downplay Death. You see, many cards in the Arcana represent change, Death is a warning. _The wheels of fate are already moving, Aster" _

Aster felt he had already heard that before. He stopped and realized: he already had a dream of a tarot reader...was this perhaps the man on the grey robes from his dream?

His trail of thought was interrupted by Sartorius:

"But your future is, The World". He paused: "Congratulations Aster, your journey will come full circle. The world is literally in your hands. All what you fought for, will be worth it. The recognition and praise you always wanted will be waiting for you."

He was pleased that both of them had at least happy futures ahead.

Before walking out the door, the tarot reader gave Aster a small warning:

"Not everything is as it seems. White, does not mean pure. But most importantly, do not hold onto objects of the past. Until we meet again." And closed the curtain as both kids stepped outside the tent.

Jade was surprisingly quiet. He expected that after such an adventure she would be rambling about how awesome and creepy it was. Aster was not sure what to say either. Was it strange that he had dreamt with a tarot reader a few nights ago and now he met one in person? He even spoke the same line from his dream. But rather than worrying about the tarot reader or his future, he had to worry about the present. Sartorius had said it himself, Death was a warning.

Elias saw the kids return with very stern faces. He kneeled down to talk both of them, and they explained their encounter with a tarot reader, who had read them their future.

"Oh kids, do not believe in that. You can choose your own destiny".

Aster explained that he had received the Death card for his present.

"Aster, you shouldn't mess with things out of your control. You shouldn't listen to a charlatan."

Jade was standing awkwardly next to Aster.

"Did he tell you bad things too?" She nodded and Elias hugged them both. Ruth chimed in and offered to buy something for the kids who refused.

Elias decided it would be the best if they all continued with their trip around the park. Mostly Elias, Aster and Jade were the brave ones to go on all the rides. Miles and Ruth seemed more terrified of the rides, only deciding to take part on smaller and less harmful games like the Kaibaman show. Elias had always enjoyed theme parks, though in his childhood, they were not very common. He had only been to one, which was a few hours away from his home, and at that time was very expensive. Particularly in the 90s the theme park mania was finally reaching Japan, and almost every major city had its own theme park. Throughout the 90s, tickets became more available, and traveling to theme parks too. After Aster was born he knew that as a family they had to make a family tradition to go to a theme park every year. Of course, things didn't happen as we expect it. And now with Dana's passing...

He had decided: he would tell Aster everything.

They found their spots in the Duel Arena. As it was the first duel of the season it was packed. Even some of those who had participated in the sub-leagues were there. As with every duel of the season, it was opened with a speech by the man Seto Kaiba, himself. From the place they were sitting, Kaiba looked rather small, but the big screen showed his face in detail. He was a handsome young man, not a single hint of age was seen on his face: no signs of wrinkles or grey hairs. His brown hair was perfectly combe, and his icy blue eyes looked at the front with confidence. He thanked everybody for their presence and hoped this season's Duel Monsters was filled with excitement and _fair play_.

Everybody clapped when the two duelists appeared on the arena. The first one was a young duelist Aster had already seen on the TV. It was a new comer from the Sub-leagues, who had a dinosaur type deck. His opponent was a much older man around his forties. He was well known in Pro-league circles, having competing in the past five seasons. However, in all the seasons he had been left in the unfortunate second place. He was well known for his strategies based around magic and trap cards rather than monsters itself. The younger duelist was all for the attack: monsters with high attack points, very few side effects. To Aster it would be an interesting battle between strength and witts.

"Can you imagine when _you_ are the one standing in the arena dueling?" Jade told him with a giggle. He couldn't deny that he loved dueling. The atmosphere in the stadium, the crowds, everything was exiting. He did not know how long it would take him, but he was sure that duel monsters was his callings. He would be The Destiny Duelist, using the Destiny Heroes his dad had designed. He would awe the crowds with his strategies and original decks. And he imagined both, his father and Jade sitting on the VIP seats cheering for him.

As they left the stadium Aster kept rambling about how the veteran duelist could have used better strategies to avoid his loss. Aster imagined that the magic and trap cards would be enough to hold the strategy of the younger duelist, but he was wrong. He felt an ideal strategy is one that incorporates both in a balanced way: the magic and trap cards should complement the monsters.

Elias tucked Aster into bed and placed a chair near him. It had been a while since he had told Aster a bedtime story, but he would do it's best. His son had not exactly asked for one either.

_On a spring afternoon I met a young woman. My friends had teased me that she looked rather plain, but i disagreed with them. She was a quiet woman, with dark hair and blue eyes. Despite her shy nature, I knew she had a rebellious nature in her. She was wearing white shorts with knee high boots, she was a contrast with most girls at the park who had knee high skirts and sweaters. She was smoking while her friend was reading a magazine. _

_On the same day I met your mother, Miles actually met Ruth. Two young boys and two young girls, it was another time, so asking them for a coffee did not sounded so pervy. She told me her name was Dana. _

_She was a quiet woman, but she was very fun! You know, I used to be fun too. Back in those days, you could only go to bars if you were with a partner, and boy did we enjoyed our times there. Dancing was not very popular, mostly we choose karaoke, but we had lots of fun. _

His dad smiled.

_Dana's mom...she was a little peculiar. She was a tarot reader. I never believed in that stuff, and Dana didn't seem to pay much attention to it either...But she always had a particular interest in destiny. She always thought that the future was predetermined. _

Elias shook his head.

_Personally, I find it all a little stupid. But I said I would always respect her beliefs. You mom would have loved the Destiny Heroes, I am sure of that... Sorry, I'm losing track, where was I? _

Aster was listening attentively. He wasn't exactly sure what to ask his dad. A whole description? Why was he telling him this now? More details? He was rather still, but his mind was rushing with questions.

"Why is she not here with us?" he asked suddenly.

_Ouch. _Better not rush into things, Elias thought.

"Let's go slowly, shall we?" he tried to brush it off.

_So your grandmother was a Tarot Reader. She did not like me very much...Mainly because I did not believed in fortune telling. But we managed to get well, most times. Except, sometimes, she would recommend not doing certain things, because she had seen they would end up in a terrible outcome. One time, with Miles and Ruth we all saved up to a beach getaway. It was our first get away as an official couple, which was rather scandalous! My parents would have wanted to wait until marriage to take a vacation with Dana on our own. But Dana's mom…._

_You see, she had a "premonition" that something terrible would happen in that trip. And she did everything in her power to stop us from going. She even showed up to the beach resort! Your mother was so embarrassed…_

Aster could see his dad was getting a little off topic, but he choose not to interrupt him. There was a relaxed expression on his father's face.

_Anyways, so in the end a big storm happened. So, your grandmother was right...But, it happened the weekend after we had left the beach resort!_

Aster's grandmother seemed to be quite a character, even rather scary. He wondered if she was still alive...and if she was, if she would even like him. Elias shook his head again.

_Mother in laws...they are a very difficult species of people. When you are older you will understand. _

Aster wondered why he had to have a bad relationship with a girl's family. That didn't seem very practical. Although there were many things that to Aster didn't quite make sense. He had never felt anything for a girl...they were just, well, girls. But his father blushed a little when describing his mom, which he found it a little strange. Perhaps many things about adult relationships he would understand when he was older.  
Sometimes he would overhear his dad cracking jokes with Miles. And he looked at them confused while his dad would pat his head and say "When you are older you will understand".

He was glad at least that his father considered him mature enough to finally lift the veil over his mom. It was not an easy thing to do. It took many weeks of Aster asking and insisting, but he was glad his father had finally decided to open up to him. Maybe was one of the steps of growing up Sartorius had told Jade about. His eyes were closing, his father words were getting slightly more confusing. But he didn't want to fall asleep, not just yet.

"We can continue tomorrow, you had lots of fun in Kaibaland, today" His father closed the door. The last thing Aster saw before closing his eyes is that his dad had left one of the wedding rings on the nightstand.

* * *

_**I'm so sorry for the long wait and the weak chapter :( **_

_**Been hella busy this month. I'm volunteering for one of the candidates who is running for presidency, we had primary elections (which was a CRAZY day)...but hey! my candidate is running for president in october! **_

_**Combained with a terrible writers block, because my mind was filled with politics :(**_

_**ALSO: WILL BE GOING ON HOLIDAYS NEXT WEEK SO -SMALL HIATUS!-**_

_**Love u all 3**_


	7. Chapter 7

The pressure in the room was more than Aster could take. It was as if the room was getting smaller and smaller. Another one of those shaky nights it was. In his dream, Aster was plagued with new strange images. They all happened way to quickly for Aster to comprehend what was going on.

First, he was standing in the pouring rain in what looked like a cemetery. He was not sure why he was there, he was standing in front two gravestones but could not read the names. He was dressed completely in black, but did not had an umbrella with him. Suddenly, the rain stopped, or that's what he thought.

He turned to see the fortune teller from Kaibaland standing next to him. He was not sure how he had found him. But he leaned his umbrella, so the rain would not wet Aster.

"You'll catch a cold" he said.

"How did you know I was here?"

"The wheels of fate brought me back to you." Aster kept looking forward.

The scene changed once again. He was sitting in a table with Sartorius. It felt as if he had fallen in the middle of a conversation.

"...You will help me escape this destiny"

"I will do everything!" Aster cried, his eyes were filling up with tears.

"We must stop it. We must stop the Light of Destruction."

Aster woke up with a cold sweat.

He looked around his room. It was still rather dark. He squinted his eyes to look at the clock. 6:30 am. Very early for his liking. But he was not tired, he did not want to go back to sleep. He turned over to the nightstand, the wedding ring was still there. He took it in his hands, and saw it was his mother's. There was something summoning him to keep the ring close, as if he needed to take care for it. He decided to check his dad's bedroom: he was in a deep sleep snoring rather loudly. He chose not to disturb him, his dad would probably wake up in a few hours. He decided to get ready and have breakfast. He had no one to call at such early hours. He imagined Jade was probably asleep in her comfy room, in between her stuffed animals.

Elias woke up a few minutes before his alarm sounded, and when he made his way towards the kitchen he was surprised to find his son sitting on the sofa. His son slightly waved at him and pointed towards the kitchen. Without his coffee Elias was rather slow, he nodded to Aster and followed his instruction. He found two loaves of bread on the toaster ready to be made. The cup which read "Best dad" was resting in the counter with a spoon and a jar of coffee beans. The water heater was turned on, he went over to touch it. It was lukewarm.

"Aster woke up early" he mumbled. He thanked his son for the gesture and sat with him on the sofa. Surprisingly, Aster didn't look very tired. His son told him he had already made his own breakfast and cleaned his utensils. Once Elias took the first sip of coffee he started to feel more like a normal person rather than a zombie. His sight cleared, he could comprehend where he was...he was ready to begin the day. He realized Aster was holding one of the wedding rings.

Aster explained that he had left it in his room last night. While playing with the ring in his hands, not looking at him he explained:

"I would like to have it, but of course I know it's yours."

"You can have it...but, we better keep it safe. It's made of pure gold! I can keep it locked up in my office, and you can check it anytime you want!"

To Aster it seemed quite reasonable, so he agreed. His father explained that he was going to Industrial Illusions to finally pick up the Destiny Hero Deck which was printed. Pegasus had already approved it, so now it could be read from a Duel Disk. They agreed that they would buy one after picking up the deck.

Perhaps, Elias suggested, they could have a duel. It had been a while since he used his duel disk, as he mostly focused on the creative aspects of Duel Monsters, he barely dueled. To Aster, nothing was more exciting. Getting a duel disk, dueling his father and finally using his Destiny Deck. Aster insisted on going to Industrial Illusions with him.

Aster was ready to go in that moment, but Elias had to explain they opened at midday. Aster insisted they could roam around, just in case it opened early. He suggested they could walk to buy time. Once they reached Domino City they did some window shopping. On sundays Domino was rather slow, at least during the morning. After lunch, the city would be as always crowded with people and activities. For most working people, Sunday was their free day.

The glass doors from Industrial Illusions opened and Aster rushed inside, his father slowly walking behind him. He waved at the guard, and went over to the receptionist. Aster was too short to reach the counter, and did his best to jump a few times so the lady could see him. Elias leaned on the counter and talked to the blond lady:

"Good morning, I have a deck at my name". He showed her his Industrial Illusions card, and the lady went to the back door. A few minutes later she returned with a grey box. Aster was jumping in his spot, his blue eyes filled with excitement. When his father handed him the box he could feel his hand shaking. He was scared he would drop the cards with his excitement. He opened the box…

And there it was. The Destiny Hero Deck, without a single scratch, smelling of new paper, all shining in all its glory. Aster went over through it. All the cards he had seen in the paper now made much smaller to fit the card size. Destiny Hero Celestial, Destiny Hero Drilldark, Double Dude, Dreadmaster, Clock Tower Prison, D-Fortune, D-Fusion, D-Cube...he went over until he reached the 40th card: Destiny Hero-Plasma. The ace of his deck, as his father had explained. He felt so many things at once: excitement, happiness, thankfulness. He promised himself he would make good use of the Destiny Hero deck, and would treasure it forever.

His dad had always made sure that his son felt special and appreciated. Aster and no doubt he was a special kid, at least in the eyes of his father. But this, this was different. His father had crafted with his own hands a deck for him. Not even thousands of trips to Kaibaland could compare...He started crying.

He tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. His felt his dad hug him. He was a little embarrassed for crying, specially in front of the receptionist and the guard. When they left the building Aster's eyes were still slightly red and puffy. They headed over to the game shop owned by Solomon Muto to buy a duel disk. As always, the old man was in the counter. Despite his grandson's fame, Yugi Moto, the old man lived rather simply. He still had the same game shop, and prefered to attend it himself. He refused to add more shops or even expand it, despite the popularity of the game shop and Duel Monsters. In front, was another game shop owned by Duke Devin. It was rumored that it was a direct competition to Mr. Moto's humble shop, but they said nowadays they had reach an agreement. Instead of being a competition, both shops tried to compliment each other. Besides, Duke Devin's shop was not only dedicated to Duel Monsters but other games, like Dices and Monsters, which only had a niche following.

Elias explained that they were buying Aster's first duel disk. Mr. Muto looked over the counter while talking to them about how great it was for a young child to finally get involved in the world of duel monsters. He showed them the box, and while looking to Aster he said:

"It is rather simple. First, you adjust it to your arm. Then you place your deck, and turn it on. The cap to place the cards will open automatically. You also have a special pocket for Camp Field cards."

He recommended to always use the duel disk in an open space, or at least, a place with high ceilings to avoid injury.

"You know, they are holograms but...they are quite realistic! They can shake things up!"

Mr. Muto asked Aster about his deck, and Aster explained about his new deck of Destiny Heroes and how it was specially designed for him.

"That seems a very interesting deck! I do hope to see you duel in the future one day! I see you have a passion for the game, that's the most important!" he winked as he placed the box in a bag and handed it to his father.

As they were leaving the shop, they run into a man who was entering the shop. Aster recognized him: Mr. D. His eyes widened, Mr D seemed to have recognized him...but the one who also recognized him was his father. He turned the other way, and ignored him. Aster took notice, and he would ask his father about it on the car. They decided to have lunch at Jade's and there Aster could have a duel with his father on their gigantic backyard.

"Do you know the man who we saw at the shop?" he inquired.

"Who? Mr Moto? Of course! I had never met him in person, but heard a lot of things about him! He seems like a really nice man..."

"No" Aster interrupted "Mr. D!"

"How do _you _know him?" his father would probably not be very happy of him talking to strangers, so he said he had seen him on the television.

"He was a friend of your mom" he answered with a hint of jealousy. "I don't like him very much. You probably do not remember him, but he used to come over a lot"

Of course, Aster did not remember it. He felt his father tense up and decided not to ask more question about Mr. D, at least for now. But he knew there was much more to uncover.

When they arrived to Jade's house, the table was fully loaded with food: steak, mashed potatoes, a bowl with salad, bread and olive oil. The table was carefully set in the backyard with a flower arrangement in the middle. A silver white cloth was covering the table and the chairs all had a pillow matching the cloth. Jade sat next to Aster and he told her about his encounter with Mr. Moto himself.

Elias helped Aster adjust his duel disk. Miles, along with Ruth and Jade were watching exited. Aster encouraged his father to start the duel. Elias began by placing a monster in defense position face down.

Aster looked at his hand, he had drawn Destiny Hero-Plasma, but he knew he could not use it yet, he had two sacrifice three monsters. Besides, he wanted to check the deck a little bit before summoning Plasma straight away. So much adrenaline was inside his little body that he could run the highway from his town to Domino City back and forth. His hand felt comfortably holding his cards, and he felt a certain sense of pride knowing that he was _the only one_ who owned the Destiny Deck. Aster summoned Destiny Hero Drilldark (ATK 1600/ DEF 1200) in attack position, and with his special ability, he summoned Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400), he placed a card face down. He declared an attack on his dad's monster, which was destroyed. He chose not to attack with the other monster.

Elias smiled pleased, the Destiny Heroes looked very good as a hologram, just as he had imagined them. He had seen many times his crations, but mostly from the sidelines in stadiums or through a TV screen. He drew a card and placed a monster in attack position, Enraged Battle Ox (ATK 1700/DEF 1000), and attaked his Destiny Hero Drilldark. Aster lost 100 life points. Elias was with the advantage with 4000 life points while Aster had 3900.

In Aster's turn, he used Polymerization, and fusioned his Destiny Hero Celestial and Destiny Hero Dasher to create Destiny Hero Dangerous (ATK 2000/DEF 2600). He placed Destiny Hero Doom Lord (ATK 600/DEF 800), and used it's special ability to vanish his dad's monster for two turns. Thus, Aster was allowed to attack his father directly twice, in total making his father lose 2600 points. His dad was left with 1400 life points. He ended his turn proudly.

"Sorry dad! It's your turn!" He shouted from the other side of the field.

His dad signed him a thumbs up.

"You are doing a very good job, don't be scared to be tough on me" he smiled.

To Elias it seemed that Aster was already one with his monsters. Elias knew that if he tried to attack, Aster would probably activate Dangerous' special ability and increase the attack point of Doom and Dangerous as well. He choose to play a card in defense position, face down. He activated his Magic Card Soul of the Pure, and increased his Life Points by 800. Elias had 2200.

His father was quite a challenging opponent. He seemed to be able to recover quite quickly, despite using mostly outdated cards. Aster played his field spell, Clock Tower Prison. He saw his father smile. Of course, his father knew his strategies, he had designed the deck! Around them, the atmosphere changed, the field became foggy and behind Aster a gigantic Clock Tower appeared.

In Elias' turn, placed another monster in defense position face down. But, one counter had been placed on the clock, during Elias' stand by phase. The monster which had been vanished returned to his dad's side. Aster attacked with Dangerous one of his father's monster and placed a card face down. He ended his turn.

Once it was his father's turn, Aster activated his trap card: Eternal Dread, which rushed the clock to 30 minutes before midnight. One more strike, and Dreadmaster would make his appearance. Elias placed in attack position, and activated his card: Enemy Controller. He sacrificed his face down card, and took control over Destiny Hero Doom. He vanished Dangerous for two turns.

Aster was not expecting that his father would use his monster against him. But, he was excited that his father was challenging him rather than let him win. He played Diamond Dude (ATK 1400/DEF 1600), and attacked Doom, which made his father life points, he was left with However Doom, returned to Aster's graveyard. He finished his turn. Elias had only 600 life points left.

While Elias was in his standby phase, the clock struck midnight. A loud, overbearing sound filled the garden. At that point, the field did not look like a garden at all. Their expectators were barely visible behind the fog. Aster possed confidently, it made Elias' chuckle.

"You know what is coming now…" he said in a defiant tone. But in his eyes, he could see his excitement, he could barely control his grin. The hand holding his cards was shaking. Elias used another Soul of the Pure, and his points were back to 1400, he could not miss this part.

In Aster's turn, he did what Elias' had expected. He sacrificed his Field Spell, for another field card, Dark City. The scene changed, and now a cartoon-like city surrounded them. And thus, was able to special summon Destiny Hero-Dreadmaster.

Elias changed his Enraged Battle Ox to defense position and ended his turn. Dangerous had returned to Aster's side of the field.

Now Aster had three monsters on his side. His hand was shaking. He gave his father an anxious look, and his father nodded. He summoned his ace of his card, Destiny Hero Plasma (ATK 1900/DEF 600). He tried it's special ability and absorbed his dad's monster, which was Enraged Battle Ox, increasing Destiny Hero Plasma attack by a total of 2750 attack points. He attacked directly, giving him the victory of the duel.

When he finished he rushed towards his father who was on his knees. He apologized for being a little harsh but his dad answered with a hug.

"That was the most fun duel I had in a while" he declared. "What do you think of your new deck then?"

Aster hugged him again. "It's perfect!" Jade with her family rushed to the father and son duo. The girl told Aster that his next opponent should be none other than herself, afterall, she was his _best friend_. It made Aster slightly froze. He was not sure how long they had known each other, perhaps two months? Perhaps longer and neither remembered it. Either way, he could not deny that he probably had the most fun summer in many years.

Once they were alone, Jade gave him a hug and congratulated him. It felt, warm, nice. It didn't felt the same as when his father hugged him. But it felt comfortable. He told her about his encounter with Mr. D.

"I don't know Aster...If your dad doesn't like him...maybe you should be careful".

"I don't think you need to judge a book by it's cover, Jade." And thus, proceeded to tell Jade the information he had recovered about his mom. She asked him if he would meet her, or at least, see a picture.

He made sure to ask his father just that.

* * *

**IM BACK! :D **

**Back from the holidays, fully rested after sleeping two days. Plus, if the egyptian gods are on my side, I may graduate form collage at the end of the year (yay!) **

**Damn this duel was hella hard to write. The D-Heroes are kinda complicated man...**

**Hope you enjoy :) **


	8. Chapter 8

Aster was gathering a lot of information about his mom, but his dad still refused to show him a picture. He simply answered, that he didn't had any. By now he had learned that his mother liked singing, and was a firm believer of fortune tellers. His father had told her she was quite rebellious, but a really compassionate soul. It took a while to finally talk about their life as a family.

"You probably don't remember, you were very young". He went on to explain how they bought the apartment when they figured Dana was pregnant and Elias was doing very well on Industrial Illusions. He went on with some useless details about how they had a brief discussion as Dana thought it was too lavish but Elias just wanted to provide them the best. As nights went on, his father slipped more and more information, at times, it seemed he even forgot Aster was there, and was rather talking with an old friend. He would take a step back, apologize, and avoid some details...Like the reason they bought such a big apartment was because they were trying to have more kids.

Elias had avoided it. He had given Aster as much information as he could in order to avoid the last year of marriage. That was not an easy thing to explain to a kid. First, he would probably think he was crazy, his mother left them to join a cult? Talk about mommy issues...And second…

He was not sure. His gut feeling always told him there was something. Dana had met Mr. D in one of her cult meetings, which Elias refused to partake. A rather strange, mostly boring man, who didn't seem to put much interest in life or anything. He didn't even looked that interested in the cult itself, unlike Dana, who after attending every saturday to meetings of the Society of Light, would only speak about that.

Even though Mr. Dr looked like a rather simple man, he could talk about a variety of topics. He was around their age, and was trying to make it to the Pro-Leagues, and in the meantime, he was stuck in a boring job which he despised. Elias could see that Mr.D, or Daniel as he prefered calling him, had a passion for Duel Monsters. He was quite knowledgeable in the art of dueling, he was just rather unlucky. He knew his skill, he didn't doubt that if perhaps a little bit more luck, Mr. D could achieve his dreams. He was the first person to introduce Aster to the game of duel monsters. He definitely knew his craft if he could explain it to a four year old. Aster's first duel was with Mr. D. It annoyed him a bit, as he had wished, his first duel had been with his father. But he let it slide. Aster did get on well with Mr. D, and Elias could see that. But, there was something else bothering him.

He got too well with Dana. Never, ever since he had met her he doubted she would be unfaithful to him. But, they were slowly reaching a rocky path. Sleeping facing separate directions in bed, and then...no intimacy. No sex for a week, then two weeks and finally a full month.

His suspicions rose up when he found some letters in Dana's night stand. They weren't exactly love letters. Mostly the letters Dana received from Mr. D were related to the mission commanded by the Light of Destruction. To Elias it looked more like two crazy people talking back and forth rather than two lovers.

_Mr D: _

_How is France? I know the Light of Destruction said that it is a rather difficult destination, but I am sure once those pesky french see the light, you will have no problem. I told you I wanted to talk with Him. I was able to have a meeting with him today. And D, I am worried, for us and for the Society._

_He proceeded to read my fortune. I feel so much shame! He warned me that my own son would be responsible for the fall of the Society of Light. Elias does not understand me, D. _

_Elias refuses to join the Light. But, shouldn't that be what a husband do? All he does is work, and he pays more attention to Aster than me! _

_I feel very alone. Elias wanted another child, and we tried. But I can't get pregnant. I am a fail, and my own son could be the destruction of the Society of Light. I cannot let it happen. _

_I think...I think D, and please don't judge me. I would leave Aster in a heartbeat to continue with the Society's existence. I have agreed to more meetings, to see what I can do. _

_I feel such an imposter, D. I don't know for how long I can continue this. _

_The Light is the only thing that keeps me going. _

_Yours, _

_Dana_

But he found other letters in which Dana explicitly asked for advice on what to do with their marriage. All the details, all the difficulties, Mr D knew about them. It was rather obvious that Dana was feeling a certain attachment. He was always in the house and he noticed brief glances that Dana gave him. It made him want to vomit. Their son was right there. He, his husband was there. She kept slipping in the Society of Light, in her madness, in her beliefs and her world. And Mr. D was right along to follow her. He caught them hugging a few times, which for his liking lasted a little bit longer that just a friendly hug. All those times Dana arrived later, he imagined she was probably with _him. _

Of course, she denied it. He insisted. He considered going to couple therapy and even working less hours.

"Join the light, Elias. Do it for me" she begged.

"But what about Aster?"

It took her a second.

"Aster is a threat for the Society of Light".

Elias was furious.

"Dana, he is _four_." He grabbed her by the arms, rather strongly.

"Dana, what are you doing?" he looked in her blue eyes. "This is not you. We have a child, Dana, and he needs you. I need you, Dana".

She was silent. But Elias continued:

"Is this my fault? What even is this Society of Light thing? Dana, I know you. You don't follow patterns, you don't like being told what to do. Leave the society of light and…" his eyes were getting wet with tears.

"Come _home_."

Dana looked at him coldly.

"I found a home, Elias."

He kept insisting as she followed her towards the kitchen.

"This is your home Dana, with your son and me. And we can try to make it bigger if you want. We can take a vacation, we can get a dog...we can even try for another child."

"We already tried" she answered in a monotone voice as she poured some tea on her cup. Dana was very relaxed for such a heavy conversation. To Elias it seemed that she didn't care at all.

"Do you still love me?" he asked suddenly.

"Love is what I feel for the Light". Elias stomped out of the kitchen and locked himself in his office. That night he fell asleep on his deck. Dana had not bothered to check on him or anything. Her compassion, her emotions seemed mostly gone. She was behaving like a robot.

It was just a matter of time before Dana left. There was no argument, no huge fight, just her taking the course of action Elias dreaded. Simply packing her bags and leaving. The next morning when Aster woke up, Dana was long gone.

"We just...had our differences" his father lied him. "Sometimes people are not meant to be together, that's all"

"Do you think mom would be proud of me?" Aster asked.

He smiled and kissed him goodnight.

"Of course".

As he drifted to sleep he could see a white light emerging from his mom's wedding ring. The light was in his dream. Aster opened his eyes and saw he was in a beach. He looked at his reflection in the water. A shining white light was behind him.

A deep voice spoke to him.

"I have slept for four years". A deep male voice that filled the whole beach. Aster was sure it sounded in his head. The Light had introduced itself as The Light of Destruction.

With every sound it changed its shine, sometimes almost a blinding light, sometimes a very dim one.

Aster looked to what was below the light. The _ring_. He realized, the light was _inside_ the ring. His thought was interrupted as he saw claws emerging from the sand. Claws filled with blood, and with a loud scream, the monster extended its wings and placed itself in front of Aster.

But it was no monster. It was Destiny Hero Plasma, and it was...protecting him? He heard a loud bang, as if someone had crashed a ceiling from a house. He heard the sound of stomping in the distance followed by the sound of chains. Dreadmaster with his large body kneeled in front of Aster facing the light.

Where was this place? Was it an ideal land were Duel Monsters were real? Destiny Hero Plasma urged Aster to run. The child had no choice. He ran without direction until he stumbled upon a large cave. As he was going deeper, he saw a shimmering green light from the distance. As he approached the light, he realized that it was the glow from Diamond Dude's diamonds that were resting on his shoulders. He could figure out the silhouette of another darkly figure, which spoke in a whisper. As he approached closer, he realized the second guest was Destiny Hero Doom.

"As monsters of dark, we are natural enemies of the Light of Destruction...". Doom explained.

"...there are others who are fighting against the light of Destruction as well." Diamond Dude finished.

Each monster only said once sentence and their voices kept blending between one and the other. Aster was not sure if he was dreaming, hallucinating or had travelled to another dimension. But, it made sense to Aster. It felt natural. The Light of Destruction wanted something with him, his mother was somehow connected, and the Destiny Heroes were created to protect him.

"The light of destruction is an ancient being..." Doom said

"...but just because it is ancient, it doesn't make it wise" the sentence was finished by Diamond Dude.

"It wants chaos, and destruction..."

"...we have been fighting it since we were created"

Aster wondered who were the others fighting against the Light of Destruction. Did his world knew? Did the military knew? Was this world of Duel Monsters even real? Could he return to that same beach whenever he wanted? He hoped Plasma was holding on against the Light. Part of him wanted to wander around the beach and try to find his other Destiny Hero Monsters, but he knew that would not be safe. Was this world his own? Or perhaps Jade's monsters would be wondering around the beach as well? He had so many questions! Did they ate? Did they had fun? But Doom and Diamond did not seemed interested in light hearted topics.

His mom. The Light of Destruction was being hosted on his mom's wedding ring.

"Your mom helped the Light of Destruction..."

He felt as if someone had thrown a bucket full of ice over his head.

"She was a faithful follower…"

"But not anymore?" Aster inquired hopeful.

How the compassionate soul his father had described would help bring chaos in their world?

"You are a threat for the Light…" and Diamond did not finished the sentence.

Aster called Jade first thing in the morning. His dad had left for work, and with a little bit convincing Jade was able to go to his house. Aster felt as if an invisible clock was ticking and he was running out of time. He didn't care if Jade thought of him as crazy, he had to warn her, and he needed help.

"My mom helped an ancient being called The Light of Destruction" he said. He brought the ring which was inside a bag. "And I think it's here"

Jade stared at him with a blank expression, of course, Aster did not expected her to believe him just like that.

"This is real Jade, and we are in danger. All those dreams I had, all the times I felt uneasy with the ring, it was The Light!"

"But what are you going to do?" she asked.

Aster explained the plan which included breaking the ring in little pieces, burning it and throwing it to the river. Aster saw that Jade was not very convinced, and he wondered how she could not agree with such a flawless and simple plan. He had seen that protagonists in movies never got rid of the enchanted object, so the most practical solution was of course, to destroy it.

"If it is so powerful, do you think that just by destroying the ring will be enough?" Jade asked.

"Of course it will"

"And if your dad asks?"

Elias was having an easy day at work. Particularly, it was a day with not high demand. As he had a good night sleep he was feeling in a very content mood. He thought that perhaps tonight they could go out to dinner with Aster. He left the inking brush and headed to the entrance door to have a cigarette. Miles was in one of his trips so he was not in the office. He usually travelled a lot; both of them did. Elias had the opportunity to travel alongside Miles, and with Maximillion Pegasus, but he refused, as he had no one to leave his son with. He could pay a nanny of course, but he preferred to take care of himself. And now with Miles, at times he felt he spent more time with his daughter, than Miles did. He did not want to get involved, each family were their own world he guessed, but he noticed Jade spent a lot of time alone. From what he could see Jade was a very happy child though, and a very extroverted one. The friendship she had built with Aster was definitely something positive. He could see Aster struggling to make friends at times, never really having a playmate or bringing someone home for cookies. With her, Aster was able to get out of his shell much more.

"Hey, could you light my cigarette?" he heard a voice ask him. Without much thinking he turned to face the stranger with the lighter. He heart skipped a beat. Clean shaved, combed back black hair, newly bought glasses and a dark suit...Daniel Dubois. None other than Mr. D. Slowly Elias approached the lighter to Mr. D's cigarette. Probably it was the suit, but he felt smaller, while Mr. D stared at him with his dark eyes.

"How's it been Elias?" He asked as he stood beside him taking the cigarette to his mouth.

Elias wanted to give as little information as possible to Mr. D.

"Good, work is good."

"How is little Aster doing?"

"Great"

A very awkward conversation much to Elias' likining. Not that he was interested in having an actual conversation with him at all.

"I heard about Dana...I'm sorry"

And there it was. Silence. Mr. D proceeded talking:

"Elias, I know what you think. I know you don't like me very much. But i swear on my life I never placed a finger on Dana. Nothing happened between us. Ever".

Four years later he approached him like a creep just to say that? Elias wondered.

"How did you find me?" he asked harshly.

"I was not expecting to find you. I have a job interview!" he answered quite pleased.

"Oh? And what for?"

"Administrative. Don't worry, I'm not here to take your job, I could never have a talent like _yours_"

"Thanks" he answered coldly.

"I've seen the work you do. Many people at the Pro-Leagues use your deck."

Some things never change...Elias rolled his eyes.

"Your decks are very interesting. And you must feel very proud that many of them have won the Championship!"

"What about Aster? Will you help him get to the Pro-League? I remember he was very skilled...can't imagine how a great duelist he must be now!" Mr. D didn't seem to get the memo that Elias was not interested in talking. He changed the subject.

"So what about your job interview?"

"Oh, it's in 30 minutes!"

"Good luck, I guess." Elias threw the cigarette in the bing and returned to the building.

He didn't want to say his day was ruined but Mr. D, but definitely it was not someone he enjoyed seeing. And now, there was a chance he would work here, meaning he probably had to see his face on a daily basis. Maybe he wouldn't get in. Even after four years and with Dana long gone he kept insisting that nothing happened.

Aster managed to hide the evidence. He broke the ring with a hammer and Jade convinced him to bury it inside one of the house plants. The threat of the light was long gone, and Aster could finally sleep in peace. He felt a sense of relief. His father's office felt normal. There was no weird vibe, just a normal office which he could spend all day with his father doodling. He was surprised it would be that easy...to easy maybe. In the back of his mind he wondered if it truly had worked. He wanted to find a way to talk again with his Destiny Heroes. He had some time to rest, for today, he got to be the Hero of the story.

* * *

**See you next time!**

**R&R**

**:D**


	9. Chapter 9

**CH IX**

Elias was ready. His consciousness did not let him rest knowing that his son was oblivious to the fact. He didn't have to explain how she died, right? The presence of Mr. D as the new receptionist of Industrial Illusions made him quite uneasy as well. His sympathetic look for the young, divorced and now widower man was more than he could take.

He took Aster for a father and son trip to the park. He kept fidgeting with the coins inside his jeans while Aster looked at him expectantly with his blue eyes.

"Dana...Your mom, I mean…"

"Did something happen?" Aster asked innocently. Elias looked the other way.

"She passed away".

Aster paused. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel. Death was always sad, and his mom...but he didn't exactly felt sad. He didn't know her very well. He didn't even remember her face! He wasn't exactly sure what to tell his dad, either. He could see it was a difficult topic for him. They both sat in silence looking at the distance. Despite the lowering temperatures, many people were still visiting the park. Laughter, fun, giggles, games...which did not fit with the mood of the conversation.

"Okey" Aster finally said.

"I'm sorry I did not tell you sooner...it happened...this year" his dad apologized.

"Okey" Aster answered.

Aster initiated the walk home, while his father followed behind. He was quiet, Elias wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps he was still processing the news. Walking quietly, staring upfront, he had grown a lot. Of course, for a father a son will always be the baby he was when he was born, but Aster was maturing, and fast. He imagined the day when he would be old and frail and Aster would be the one helping him move. Just like they had been when Aster was 8 in the park, he would be 18 in that same spot telling him about his first girlfriend, at 28 about his job, at 38 about his sons or daughters, at 48 about his family...at 58 about his vacations….until...who knew? It didn't matter.

He faced the other way. He didn't want Aster to see that he was getting sentimental. Perhaps, Aster was was ready to be introduced in the professional world of dueling. He would arrange the meeting with Maximillian Pegasus soon.

With the change of seasons, September bought a lot of new things. For starters, the first generation of Duel Academy students, Generation 0 of 1997. Lots of expectations were built around it, as it was the second biggest investment made by Kaiba Corp. after Kaibaland. But September also bought another special thing for Aster: Jade's birthday. Since the beginning of the month he wondered what he should buy her. Although Aster did not have money of his own. Jade was someone who could get anything she wanted, he was not sure what special gift he could give her that either she probably did not had, or her father would not think of buying. It didn't help that Jade kept hinting that she was going to celebrate her birthday big time. He had to think, and fast.

Aster woke up at three a.m on a Saturday. Finally, after thinking and fidgeting he finally had come up with the idea. He knew what he was going to give to Jade as a birthday present. He made his way to his father's office walking in front of the hiding spot from the ring. With Jade they buried it deep in a plant pot. Surprisingly, his dad had not asked him about it….

The light was on, meaning his father was still working. He tipped toed inside. Elias was in his own world barely noticing Aster who was looking at him. Aster always enjoyed seeing his father draw. Usually Elias would start with a light sketch, not paying much attention to it, just forming random shapes. As the hours went by, he would place his face closer to the paper, so close that Aster felt his glasses might fall off in any moment, his nose almost touching the canvas and he would draw the details of his monsters. His dad did magic cards and trap cards, but Aster loved when his dad did new monsters. After the card was polished and with the linework ready he would show Aster the final look and ask his opinion about it. Even if Aster slightly changed his face, his father would quickly fix it to please his son, eventhough for Aster everything his dad made was amazing.

As he placed himself next to his father he could see what he was sketching. Surprisingly, it was not a monster card. It was the bust of a woman with short black hair, round eyes and a heart-shaped face. Her expression was kind. It was a simple pencil sketch but she looked beautiful, life like. In any moment, she would blink and start moving her thin lips. For a moment Aster forgot why he was in his father's office, just watching him as he lead of the pencil colored the page. Aster was holding his breath.  
"What's the matter, Aster?" his father asked. Aster let go of the breath he was holding.

"Who is she?"

"Its...it's your mom"

"Oh"

Silence. It was the first time he was seeing his mom. He looked at her carefully. Big round eyes, and a gentle smile. She looked, peaceful, nurturing. The more he looked the familiar she seemed. A shiver crossed down his spine. A dream. A woman walking towards a river. He could even hear the drawing move its lips and say:

"_I made a big mistake, Aster_".

But...how someone who looked so nurturing would be an agent for the Light of Destruction? It was very confusing, Aster didn't want to say it outloud...but he even had a little fear of his mom. His dad interrupted him:

"Now...why are you awake at this hour?"

Aster almost forgot about it.

"I'm thinking about giving a card to Jade, what do you think?"

His dad smiled walked towards the living room were his dad placed paper and pencils to start the following day. When Aster returned to bed he placed the sketch of Dana next to the picture of him and his dad at Halloween.

The days were approaching and hanging out with Jade did not made matters easier. Jade was no shy girl, and she told Aster that she was expecting a gift from him. A gift for the "original best friend", as she called herself. He had some ideas: a human figure, a woman...When Jade was showing off the new statute her dad brought from Paris, Aster got the idea.

"Joan of Arc is so cool! She defended Paris all by herself". It was a medium size figure of a woman in a knight armor riding a horse, holding up a flag. Jade get going on about her love for France, about the food, the kings and queens, the cute french boys with their cute accents…

He searched on his dad's library some history book about this Joan woman. How she looked, what she did...He began sketching a lady with short blond hair dressed in white. A card that could protect Jade whenever she needed it. His drawing was interrupted by his father who was looking at him attentively.

"Guardian Angel Joan, interesting." he read. It was a child's drawing, but he would ask his father to draw it better and give it all the embellishments it needed. One he finished the sketch he sat with his father who had infront of him a large sketchbook. Now his dad had to interpret what he drew. He began drawing a figure with her arms spread out.

"No! It is a bowl cut, not spiky hair" Aster corrected him. His dad kept following his instructions. The end result was a female figure with a white dress, angel wings and a golden shoulder blade. He followed Aster's instructions of being a golden and white palette color. It was a fairy and light type monster. Now he had to think of it's ability. Aster knew it was going to be a high rank monster, he imagined this could be the ace card of Jade's deck. a 7 star monster it would be. Now...the ability. A guardian angel,a guardian of life. With he help of his father he came up with the correct wording:

"ATK 2800/ DEF 2000. _When this card destroys_ _a monster_ _by battle_ _and sends_ _it to the Graveyard: Gain Life Points_ _equal to the original ATK_ _of that destroyed_ _monster in the Graveyard._"

His father did the paperwork needed, and after a week, it was ready to be picked up at Industrial Illusions. As the glass doors opened, he was surprised to see Mr. D as the new receptionist. And the man seemed to have recognized him as well.

"What brings you here Aster? Your dad has not finished working, yet" Aster knew that. He was allowed to take the bus, and would meet his father for lunch at the building. His father had told him specifically to meet him at the lobby, and not to wonder around Domino City. He explained that he was also picking up a card he had created.

"It's for a friend of mine, it's her birthday"

"Must be a very special friend! Is it in Elias' name?"

Just like the time Aster and his dad went to pick up the Destiny Heroes, Mr. D opened the door behind him and looked over the storage room. He returned with the card carefully placed inside a transparent bag, completely sealed. Mr. D handed it to him as he complimented the card.

"And what is your friend's deck like?"

"Well, she uses a spellcasters and wizards deck! But she really liked Joan of Arc so…"

"That's very sweet of you! And what about your deck, Aster? I heard you are very skilled!" Aster slightly blushed. Many people had complimented him on his skills, but still it always took him aback.

"It's designed by my dad! They are a brand new type of hero called the Destiny Heroes!"

"May I see it? I know your dad is very creative with his cards!" Aster handed him the deck that was resting in his pocket. Mr. D carefully examined the cards one by one, and once he was done he gave the deck back to Aster.  
"I'm sure you'll go very far with this deck, Aster. Tell me, have you met Pegasus, yet? He could definitely help you to start a career as a professional. With an ability like yours, Pegasus would most likely take you under his wing!"

With his gaze on the floor, Aster explained that sadly not yet as his dad still felt he was too young for the world of Pros.

"What a shame, really. I think the earlier you start the better. And with a card like Destiny Hero Plasma, you will definitely be the envy of the Pro Leagues!"

Their talk was interrupted by Elias who was ready for lunch. Mr. D greeted both of them cheerfully and wished them a happy father and son time. Aster was ready to show the card to his dad.

"Do you think she will like it, dad?"

"Of course, Aster. What's more special than a card designed specially for someone?"

Aster knew very well what he meant. His father had swore that he would not tell Miles about the gift. Following Aster's wish Elias was tasked to convince Miles to buy Jade a Duel Disk, as Aster had one for himself and it was a wonderful gift for a child…

The day arrived. Father and son stepped inside Jade's garden. It was fully decorated with white and pink balloons. A large table had on top different types of sweets including cupcakes, chocolate fondue, and different types of candy. And...many girls. It was a very girly party. It made him slightly nervous. He was not expecting Jade to have so many friends. He imagined he would sit besides his father for the whole afternoon. Jade's dog Ollie rushed to meet them along with Jade. His dad greeted her with a hug. When it was Aster's turn he handed the transparent bag with both hands.

"Happy birthday" he said. He was looking at the floor. He felt his dad's hand on his back.

"Aster designed a card just for you, Jade! We hope you like it" his dad smiled.

Next thing he knew, Jade was hugging him while repeating "thank you" over again excitedly. She took him by the arm and made her follow her to introduce her to _all _of her friends. Meanwhile Elias made his way towards the table with Jade's parents and other friends from the couple. Most were co-workers who happened to have kids the same age as both Jade and Aster. Miles offered him a beer.

"Your idea was great. Jade loved the duel disk!" Elias explained that it was all of Aster's idea and that he had designed a card for her. Miles cracked a smile.

"Aster would be a wonderful son-in-law, what do you think?"

Elias chuckled.

"They are still to young...if it happens, it happens, if not, we should let them be". He answered as he watched the children play.

Marissa, Clara, Ana, Lisa...So many girls, he lost count. With the name she introduced a funny fact of each one of them, which by the time it reached the fifth girl he had completely forgotten about the rest. He was not used to such...social event. In school perhaps he would hang out with one or two people at the same time, and in any event he would stick with them. But now, he was thrown into a green garden and forced to socialize with every single person. It did not helped that to everyone Jade introduced him to she would say: "My best friend!". He had to make a good impression.

As he kept on being introduced he realized there was another boy in the party. He seemed to be a bit older and who looked slightly bored. Jade had left to greet other guests and left them alone.

"I'm Aster"

"Atticus" he answered. Atticus asked him if he liked dueling. His brown eyes shone with excitement when he answered, that yes, he dueled and had his own deck.

"Alright! Why don't we have a duel? No one seems interested in dueling here…" he answered disappointed. Their conversation was interrupted by Jade who was standing with a blond girl.

"Aster, I've seen you met Atticus! This is Alexis, Atticus sister" the blond girl nodded.

Jade turned towards the girl: "Aster is the boy I was telling you about!" the grey haired boy felt slightly embarrassed with the mention of Jade telling _someone _about him. Alexis extended her hand. She was rather different from Jade, more reserved. His interest peaked when Jade explained that Alexis had a CyberGirls deck and Atticus a Red Eyes Dragon deck.

"My brother is really good" Alexis said "I never beat him" she ended rather sadly.

Jade filled in the details about how their parents were friends with her parents and her mother was the person who organized their wedding, as she was a very "well known wedding planner".

"I would like to see both of your decks" Aster declared. "And Jade, you could try your new card!"

"A tag duel?" Alexis asked.

"That's great!" Jade answered cheerfully.

But, when they were ready for the duel, Ruth interrupted asking them to join them at the table, as it was time to blow the candles. A two floor cake was displayed in the middle of the table, it was quite a lot, but Aster looked around: there were many guests.

Jade grabbed him by the arm and placed one arm over his shoulders.

"Say cheese!" she grinned.

Flash. That picture would be the first of many. Carving pumpkins in october, matching costumes in Halloween, hitchhiking by the mountains, going to the end of the dueling season match and finally, New Years Eve.

It was the first time he would spent it with someone else besides his father. Aster was not sure if he had any other living relatives, but every year, for as long as he remembered, it was just him and his father eating junk food and watching comedy films until past midnight. The Phoenix household was receiving the Trembley family for dinner. Elias was very excited, but before doing the shopping he took the car towards a different route. It was cloudy and very chilly. Aster stepped out of the car and adjusted his scarf. His dad guided him towards the white gates filled with moss, the Cemetery entrance. The child was watching his step trying his best not to step outside the designated path and step on a grave. After a few turns, his dad stopped abruptly.

The tomb of Dana Phoenix. Aster froze. His dad sat and talked towards the stone.

"Hey Dana, we came to visit. You should see Aster, he's gotten so big now!". Aster stepped forward, and held his father's hand. It was not an old gravestone, instead it was a small rectangle shape, which just read his mother's name. A bouquet of white Gladiolus was resting in the ground. His father stared at it angrly, picked it up and placed a bouquet of pink roses instead. Aster was only able to glance briefly to the inscription of the white flowers which his father tossed to the trash:

_D_.

* * *

**Struggled a bit to write this chapter D: Mainly cause it took me DAYS to figure out the super special gift from Aster to Jade. And once i figuered it was a card my criteria was: it couldn't be a very popular/famous card that was already used by the main cast of GX, neither a card that is related to 5'Ds, ZEXAL or ARC-V and finally, that it was not waaaay to overpowered and invincible. If not, what's the point? :D **

**See you next time :) **


	10. Chapter 10

Elias returned to work after the New Years break. Like always, Mr. D with his impeccable grin and his perfectly combed hair greeted him at the reception. Elias had gotten used to his presence already, and mostly chose to ignore him. He imagined Mr D's New Year's resolution: make it to the Pros, as he had been trying for the last five years. Perhaps, his reason for getting a post in Industrial Illusions was to be near Pegasus...As if Pegasus would be interested in a crappy duelist like him! With a smile imagining such scenario he reached his office floor.

"Why so cheery?" Miles asked him as he sat on his desk. Elias just shrugged and began his sketching. Imagining Mr D's failure was not the only thing he was excited about. He yet had to tell Aster, but he was trying to set him up a meeting with Pegasus. Aster's talent as a duelist could no longer be hidden, the enthusiasm and the passion he felt for the game had to be seen around the world. And Elias would follow him wherever he went.

As soon as he arrived he sent a request for a meeting with Pegasus and his son. He knew that the head of Industrial Illusions was a very busy man, and many times meetings had to be scheduled way in advance. Pegasus was not the most reliable person to hold a meeting as well, with his very busy agenda, rescheduling was a common practice done by the grey haired man.

Aster stared at the clock intensely. Perhaps the more he stared, the faster time moved. He was not paying attention to the teacher either, he was not interested in Roman Times, they wouldn't exactly influence his dueling in any way. School was easy, and at times, even boring, he didn't feel that the classes were really estimulating. Jade went to an all girls school, so he had to be by himself. He imagined that by the time school started Jade would completely abandon him and hang out with her friends, but surprisingly, she always tried to find ways to tag him along to activities. Most times, they weren't as _girly_ as he has imagined: play in the park, go to the movies...he could handle that. But Jade's friends weren't very interested in dueling, as they said it was a "boy's game". He even felt that when she was with them, she would not talk about dueling at all. In fact, at times it felt as if she was hiding from her friends her love for the game.

"It's just...they aren't very interested in it, that's all". She said one sunday while playing with her hair.

"But you love dueling, I think there is nothing wrong with that...your dad is a card designer!" She looked at the hot chocolate that was untouched.

"You can't pretend someone you are not" he encouraged her. "I am sure there are many other girls duelist in your school, like Alexis!"

The Phoenix household had fallen into the same routine every week: Elias would drive his son to school, leave to work and pick him up at five. Jade was part of the gymnastics team so Tuesdays and Thursdays she could not hang out with Aster. While at work, Elias would have two smoke breaks, one at the morning and one in the afternoon. At 12.00 pm was lunch time and all workers at Industrial Illusions had a one hour break. Once a week, he with his coworkers would eat in the bar that was two blocks from the building.

On friday, like always, Miles insisted to join him with the crew to an after office, which Elias always refused, as he had to take care of Aster.

"You can take a day for yourself. There is no problem for Aster to go home and be with Jade!" he insisted. "Besides, I'm travelling next week". Elias wanted to complain that he was always travelling, so it was not an special occasion.

"We finish at 10.00, we all have families, Elias". So he tagged along.

The bar had a different vibe during sundown that at midday. Elias was surprised that so many people tagged along to the after office. Mostly, they were employees from Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp, the two most powerful industries in the duel monsters world. While Industrial Illusions was filled with designers, Kaiba Corp had many engineerings. The vibe was different, the usually quiet bar was playing music and they turned on some colorful lights.

Elias sat with Miles and others and ordered a beer. Mr D sat in the same table and ordered a glass of water. Some gave him a puzzled look:

"I don't drink" he declared. Mr D's presence was annoying Elias, but he didn't want a night of friends be ruined by one single person. Elias always thought that Mr D was boring, but he seemed to get on very well with the people in the table, even he found himself laughing at some of his jokes. His image of a quiet man was changed to a rather charismatic man, he actually confessed he was engaged. Another round of drinks.

Elias stood up to the bathroom, a tall and skinny brunette woman walked past him. He could notice she had a beauty mark below her right eye. He returned to the table, the unknown woman was a in front of their table.

"What are you looking at?" Miles had noticed and winked at Elias. "I think you should buy her a drink!" he dared him. The other men in the table seemed to join in, and encouraged him. Elias tried making excuses, maybe she had a boyfriend, maybe she would not like it…

"Elias, you have been single for four years now. You have the right to enjoy yourself" Miles was staring at him with a serious look. Mr D nodded.

"You never know what fate has in store for you, Elias" he said.

"Yeah, you are an attractive single man, c'mon!" Miles cheered. Finally, he stood up and went towards the bar and told the bartender that he would buy a drink for the woman with the beauty mark.

Awkwardly, he bought a drink for himself, doing the process as slowly as possible. He felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Thank you for the drink" the woman with the beauty mark smiled and placed the glass on the bar.

"Care to join me for...another one?" the lady flashed a smile. She was was an electric engineering at Kaiba Corp, her speciality was illumination for the duel arenas. The conversation was going well, she was a very graceful and interesting woman.

"You have kids?" she asked.

"Yes, an eight year old son" he answered.

She wondered if she could see a picture, and Elias took out his wallet.

"What a handsome boy! He looks just like you".

Briefly he looked at the table Miles was sitting with the others. He gave him a nod and raised his beer. They talked until the woman's friends told her they were leaving.

"It was a pleasure to meet you" she said goodbye, and handed him a white card. Elias turned it...she gave him her number.

When he returned to the table he was greeted like a champion. Miles patted him in the shoulder while saying, "Well done!". The time to leave was approaching near, and they soon realized: they all had drank and neither could drive. Some choose to walk, as they lived quite near, but particularly Miles and Elias were the furthest away. Mr D offered to drive them home. Elias stepped back:

"That...won't be necessary"

"I insist Elias. I'll leave Miles, pick up Aster who is in their home, and drive both of you." The man felt he had no choice, so tagged along. Rather than risking an accident for his pride, he prefered to be driven home.

Once they arrived to Miles home, Ruth explained that Aster had already dined, so Elias should not worry about it. He thanked her a million times and began the drive home with Mr D as the driver.

"How was the party, Dad?" Aster asked.

"It wasn't exactly a party...but it was fun"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! I had lots of fun with Jade"

Mr D gave him the "I told you so look" which made Elias roll his eyes.

"So Aster, when will your start your career as a duelist?" Mr D wondered as he turned on the signal of the car.

"Well" Elias chimed in "I have arranged a meeting with Pegasus!" he turned to look behind at Aster.

"Really, dad?" he asked exitedly.

"Yes, it will be by the end of may"

"Very well Elias" Mr D concluded.

Silence. The car ride wasn't very awkward, but Elias wanted to be finished and rest. He was definitely feeling a little tipsy after four bottles of beer. He rested his head on the window. It was a dark night, the glass felt cold, it was still rather chilly. Elias didn't like the cold, he hoped spring would arrive soon.

"How's school going, Aster?" Mr D inquired.

"Oh, it's very boring. It's so easy!" he answered.

Mr D and Aster continued talking about various topics. Elias was partly listening, he couldn't deny that Mr. D gave him some good advise, he wondered if he was a father himself. They seemed to get on pretty well to, Aster was not someone who would warm up to strangers that easily, but with Mr D, he seemed to have no trouble. He kept asking him about the tournaments he had been, what was it like, how did he thought he could improve...

"You know, there is this junior tournament in the city starting next month, I think you should give it a shot" Mr. D encouraged him.

"Don't you think, Elias?" he turned to him.

"That could be fun Dad, right?" Aster asked

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea" Elias agreed.

The ride was rather long, but they were approaching their apartment.

"Now turn to the left" instructed him.

"We are here, safe and sound" Mr D stopped the car in front of their building.

"So you still live here-" Mr D concluded.

"You should come and tell me more about the Sub Leagues and the Pro leagues!" Aster invited him.

"Perhaps another day, Aster" Mr D declined, "It's getting late".

March was the beginning of spring. Elias had agreed to sign Aster in the Junior tournament Mr. D had talked them about. It was rather small, very local, and Aster was surprised to find many schoolmates who had joined the tournament as well.

"I place a card face down and end my turn" Aster declared. The tournament lasted one month, and by the middle of it Aster had not lost a single duel. Behind him in the small stadium his father with Jade were watching. Aster had tried to encourage her to participate, but she said she was not ready, however she promised she would go to every single one of his matches. And just as promised, she delivered.

Part of Elias wondered how he had not let Aster participate sooner in a Junior tournament. Never he had seen Aster such in his environment. His posture, the way he held the cards...Elias could definitely see he had a natural gift. With or without Pegasus's help, Aster would have no problem in reaching the Pros.

Aster's opponent was a young boy wearing a baseball hat. His cards were mostly Warrior type monsters. By that point, with Aster's strategies he was already placed in an awkward corner. While Aster had 2000 life points the boy only had 900. Aster had three monsters on the field: Doom, Celestial and Drilldark. His opponent decided to attack with Robotic Knight (ATK 1600/DEF 1800) towards Destiny Hero Doom (ATK 600/DEF 800). Aster revealed his face down: D-Fusion, summoning Destiny Hero Dangerous (ATK 2000/DEF 2600) to the field, by fusioning Doom and Destiny Hero Celestial.

"I play a magic spell: Symbols of Duty, and special summon a monster from my graveyard!" Thus, Aster summoned Destiny Hero Dasher.

Plasma had been Aster's power card throughout the tournament. But this time, he decided to spice things, by summoning Destiny Hero Dogma (ATK 3400/DEF 2400). The crowd was followed by cheers. Aster choose to end his turn and this activating Dogma's effect: halving the life points of his opponent. He laughed rather obnoxiously.

"So...what will you do now?"

Aster was taught to never be rude, but, he couldn't deny it was sometimes fun. Specially making his opponents fear him. It made him feel powerful, he imagined if he won he would be the most popular boy in school.

His opponent just placed a monster in defense position. Aster summoned another Destiny Hero Celestial and attacked the monster. Finally, he launched a direct attack with Dogma.

By the end of the month, Aster was crowned the winner of the tournament. In his final match not only Elias and Jade joined him, many Elias co-workers decided to watch him as well, including Mr. D. By that point Elias did not mind Mr. D that much. He wouldn't tag along to every single thing, he seemed to understand that Elias did not like him and would just greet him with a casual "hello". Once Aster left the stage with the trophy he was greeted by his spectators. Jade was the first one to hug him. She had convinced some of her friends to join her and very proudly said:

"My best friend Aster is the winner of the Juniors Tournament!"

Elias felt that he was ready to explode with pride. He was watching everyone congratulate Aster and him carrying the trophy that was rather heavy. Miles patted him in the shoulder:

"I guess he will keep competing now"

Elias nodded, tears of joy were filling in his blue eyes. After, they headed to the restaurant to have a celebration. Most returned to work, except Miles, Ruth, Jade, Elias and Mr. D. Once the celebration was over, when they were stepping on inside the apartment the phone was ringing. Elias answered and a familiar voice replied. A voice he had heard very few times:

"Mr. Pegasus, how are you?"

Aster froze and listened attentively.

"I just called to congratulate Aster-boy in his victory. I cannot wait to meet him!"

"Would...would you like to talk to him?" Elias whispered.

Pegasus agreed enthusiastically from the end of the line. His father handed the phone to Aster.

"Be polite" he mouthed.

"Aster-boy!" A very peculiar voice answered him.

"Mr. Pegasus, sir!"

"Congratulations on your victory. It was an excellent duel. I can see you have lots of potential, however, I would see it once we meet face to face"

Aster's knees began to shake.

"Of course, of course".

"I already talked with your daddy, but I wanted to tell you, I'll wait for you on the 27th of May in my office"

"Yes. I'll be there, Mr. Pegasus! Thank you very much!"

"Thank _you_ Aster-boy! It was quite a show. I had never seen something like that in the Junior leagues. Well, see you in may!"

Pegasus hanged up.

After he closed the door of Aster's bedroom, Elias returned to his desk. He looked at the time: 2.00 am, May 22nd. Elias decided to finish the commission he was doing for the following Pro Leagues tournament. He was just starting, barely doing the sketches and thinking of the abilities. He turned on the radio, a male voice was introducing a new song released by an American band.

As he was sketching he heard a crashing sound. His window was burst open, broken into pieces. He jumped from his desk and turned to face a man wearing a dark costume whose mouth was covered in a black cloth.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he questioned. He didn't want this unknown person to see he was scared. As best as he could he stood, even if his knees were slightly shaking and ready to throw one punch or two if it was needed. Living for 8 years in that apartment it was the first time someone had broken in. Overall the neighbourhood was rather secure as well. There was crime, but mostly robberies in the streets, not exactly a break in.

"Elias, I came to claim what's mine, what will reach me to victory"

He froze.

He recognized that voice: Mr D.

His heart was pounding fast. The shock didn't allow him to speak.

"The Destiny Heroes is what will allow me to reach the Pro Leagues, Elias". Nobody, over his dead body would take the Destiny Heroes.

"They belong to Aster, and Aster alone, I will not allow you to take them!" he snapped.

Mr D. was getting closer. Elias threw a punch at his face, making him back up a few steps. His thoughts were rushing: lock the door, wake up Aster and leave the apartment? Throw the man out of the window? He looked around, he wished he had installed an alarm system on the apartment. He was not sure if Mr. D was drunk or worse, or if he would try to hurt Aster was well.

He was sure he would not give the cards, ever. The deck he had thought about so much, the deck that was exclusively made for his son, and every single card, from the traps, the magic, and all of the support cards were thought for Aster alone.

He felt a sense of disgust. Had Mr. D planned all of this from the beginning? Was the encouragement to Aster to participate a test to see the full deck

"It's not the cards that make the duelist, it's the ability"

Mr. D tackled him. As Elias was struggling he saw that Mr D suddenly froze. A white glow was surrendering him. He could see Mr D struggling to breath. Elias slightly he having a heart attack and all the ordeal would be over. Mr. D stood still. A voice very different from Mr D's spoke. It was a very deep voice, which echoed all across the room. Elias felt as if the room was getting smaller. Elias thought he was dreaming, but he was sure Mr.D's hair was getting spiker. Mr D took a deep breath.

"I will fill the world with caos" Mr D spoke, but his lips were not moving. The voice was sounding inside Elias head.

There was something in his eyes, something different, something...non-human. Elias took a step back, almost reaching the door handle. He was ready to bolt towards Aster's room and escape both of them.

"Daniel, we can talk things out" he excused himself.

"My name is not Daniel" the voice inside his head spoke.

Whatever Mr D had turned into launched onto him.

* * *

**From the first sentence I really tried to build up to this moment. Hope I managed to do that! Specially with Mr. D, how throughout the chapters he gets closer and keeps gathering information: like the deck is ready, were they live, what are their schedules like, etc. It's kinda a known moment from the anime, but still wanted it to happen all of a sudden. **

**see you next time. **


	11. Chapter 11

Aster woke up with the sound of a large object falling to the floor. He turned on the light in his nightstand. Everything was in its place. He left the bed and slowly walked on the hallway. It was quiet and dark, except for the the light coming from his father's office; he could see a liquid that was dripping outside the door. Very carefully he tiptoed into the room.

The room was turned completely outside down. It was obvious that someone had broken in. The table was turned over, small pieces of glass were scattered in the floor, which was covered in papers and dueling cards and...

"Dad!" Aster cried as he rushed towards him. His dad was lying motionless, there was blood coming from his head. He tried to shake him, but he did not reply.

"Dad, wake up" he whispered, as he kept shaking him. His hands were shaking, tears were filling up his eyes.  
"Dad!" he held on to his dad's shirt. Aster's knees were cut from laying on top of the broken pieces. His father was not reacting. Both the the window and the door were wide open. He kept shaking his father, the worst scenarios possible in and out of his mind. His dad was…

Aster was not sure how long he stayed trying to wake up his father: if it had been minutes or hours, but he knew he had to get help. Confused, he stumbled to the living room and dialed the only number he knew besides his own. Four rings, Aster hoped they were not sleeping.

"Hello?" A male and very confused voice answered.

It came as a whisper, but the message was clear.

"Someone broke in".

A policewoman escorted Aster out of the building, while more officers rushed inside. Quite a commotion was developing outside. Three police cars were blinding the young boy with their lights. From the crowd of spectators he distinguished a familiar face, Miles Trembley. Still in his pajamas he approached Aster and hugged him.

"Are you okay?"

"I think dad...dad is-" Aster was interrupted by two nurses rushing past them with a body covered in a white blanket and placing it in an ambulance. Miles stopped dead, and walked slowly towards the vehicle. He talked with one of the nurses and briefly removed the bloody blanket. Aster saw he quickly placed it back and covered his mouth. A police officer grabbed Miles by the shoulder, Aster was not sure what they were talking about, but, they kept looking at him and shaking their heads. He felt a kick on his stomach. Miles approached him slowly:

"C'mon Aster" he said as he took his hand. They got inside the police car and drove towards the station. There, kid and adult were separated. Aster was placed in a comfy room which had a small coffee table with papers and crayons carefully organized by color. There was a man wearing funky green glasses and holding a notepad sitting in front of him. He was quite extravagant.

"I am Dr. Bauer" he introduced himself with a smile. Aster read the plaque: Dr. Bauer, _child psychologist_. It made the child roll his eyes.

"Now Aster, Miles will be in the other room talking with Office Kaneda, okey?"

No answer.

"My name is Dr. Bauer, but you can call me Sig, and I am a child physcologist, okey? I am going to ask you a few questions, okey?" He smiled again.

No answer.

"Now, here you have some crayons if you like, okey? You can sit on the floor if you wish."

"Aster, how old are you?"

"Eight".

"Okey, and where do you go to school?"

"Ekido local school".

"Very well, very well, and which is your favorite subject there, Aster?"

"It's boring".

Pause. Aster was getting tired, of the okey's of Dr. Bauer and his stupid questions. "Where do you live?" "What do you like to do?" Everything was so pointless. He got down from the chair rested his head on the coffee table. He closed his eyes, the image of his dad lying motionless was vivid on his mind.

"Who is Miles?" Dr Bauer asked.

"Jade's dad"

"Is Jade a friend of yours?"

"Yes"

Dr. Bauer was writing on his notepad, while the crayons were left untouched. The doctor made a pause.

"Now, can you tell me what-"

"Is my dad dead?" Aster interrupted him, lifting his head from the table and looking at him. He stood up. No answer from the doctor.

"Well?"

"He was pronounced dead when he got to the hospital, meaning-"

"I know what pronounced _is_!" he slammed his fist on the table. "I want to see the papers" he demanded.

"Well, they'll be public soon and-"

"So who did it?" Aster asked.

"It's not my place, Aster. Police will start investigation soon"

"Then why are you wasting time talking to me?" he snapped.

Dr. Bauer removed his glasses, his green eyes staring intensely at Aster, they reminded him of Jade's.

"I am very sorry for what happened, Aster."

The ride to Jade's home with Miles was strange. Awkward, even. Both staring firmly at the front, neither saying a word. Aster rested his head on the window, the city lights becoming blurrier and more confusing. Miles turned on the radio. A song began playing: a slow quitar was accompanying the melody. As the guitar solo accompanied them, Aster glanced at Miles who kept blinking uncontrollably while holding onto the wheel tightly. After the song finished, a male voice began reporting the news:

"Now. A break in happened in the East area. One victim, well known card designer Elias Phoenix. Age: 38. Police are still investigating what happe-" Miles turned of the radio abruptly.

Silence filled the car again. Aster was not sure what time it was, what day even. The talk with Dr. Bauer felt as if it had happened a week ago, not a few hours. The blood coming out of his father's head, his broken glasses, the cards scattered in the floor, and the chilly wind of spring coming from the window. Miles turned off the car and turned to look at Aster:

"I am very sorry for what happened, Aster. Elias was a good man. We'll get through this." and hugged him.

All lights were on in the house, both Jade and Ruth were awake waiting in their pajamas sitting quietly in the living room. The environment was tense, not a single sound: not even their breaths, the t.v or the radio was on. Aster sat next to Jade who said nothing, just extended a hand. Aster choose not to grab it.

"Aster" Ruth made a pause, carefully choosing her words "There is a mattress placed in Jade's room for you, if you like…._anything you need, Aster"_.

Miles quickly added:

"But, if you want to sleep in Jade's room _alone_, its fine too".

"Its okay" Aster answered tiredly.

The parents took both children upstairs and closed the door of Jade's bedroom. Ruth left a glass of milk next to the mattress, once both children were alone Aster turned to face the opposite direction. Whenever he closed his eyes, the image of his dad lying dead would appear in his mind. Jade finally spoke:

"You can count on me, Aster"

No answer.

" I won't force you to talk...When you are ready you can tell me anything okay?"

The night was going by slowly. The loud crash, the messy office, lights, police cars, Miles. Jade kept moving from side to side, so she was not sleeping either. Aster kept hearing footsteps from outside the room, probably Miles and Ruth walking along the hallway. It did not felt real, Aster tried convincing himself that it was all a bad dream. He was just having a terrible nightmare and would wake up in his bedroom with his dad waiting in the kitchen with toast. The day before he was having dinner with his dad, only to find him dead in his office. His dad was not supposed to be dead, he was young and in good health. Dr. Bauer said he was _pronounced_ _dead _at the hospital, but was he really? Did the doctors even tried? Perhaps, when Aster found him he was already dead. He felt guilty, he should have called the ambulance first, and not Miles...

The lights from the sun began showing in the window. Aster looked around, he was still in Jade's room. He turned over to look at her bed, the girl sat up and stared back at him. When they reached the kitchen, Jade handed Aster a plate with waffles and a mug of tea.

"So, Aster" Ruth interrupted, "I hope you like waffles, Jade made them herself". He took a single bite, and kept staring around. The single bite felt like a rock in his stomach, another one and he was sure he would throw up.

The phone rang, Miles rushed to answer moving the table and breaking the mug of coffee that was near the edge. It was a brief conversation, Miles was becoming paler and paler, just answering with "Yes" and "Of course" and "I'll wait". Aster kept looking around rather uncomfortable. So many times he had been in that same chair, the same kitchen, he was part of the house at that point. Besides his own, it was the place he felt most comfortable. Whenever his dad stayed over, they would place an extra chair, and he would sit next to Aster. His thoughts were interrupted by Jade who removed the plate and threw the waffles into the trash. Aster wondered how a happy place could suddenly turn so grim.

Officer Kaneda arrived after an hour of the call. Aster was sure he had seen him, it was the same man he had seen when they found the dead body by the river a year ago. It seemed to Aster such a long time. In his hands, he had a large box that placed it in front of the kid.

"We took the stuff that was…" Officer Kaneda glanced at Aster "there"

Aster understood that by there he meant the _crime scene_. The boy looked inside: it was filled with papers.

"I think... the place where the murder happened was not a coincidence, as the rest of the apartment was left untouched" Officer Kaneda said as he removed his hat. _Murder_, Aster repeated in his mind.

"Could you, Aster, look inside?" the police officer asked rather awkwardly.

Most of the papers were sketches, some unfinished while others had the linework done. There were a few presentation and other business related cards from various people, Aster noticed one that had a sloppy written phone number. He placed the sketches on his right, the presentation and the cards on his left. Even though officer Kaneda had said that they were clean, some of the papers still felt rather wet, and had dark spots, as if it were coffee marks and some drops. But Aster was sure it was blood...he tried not to think too much about it as he continued dividing them. The box seemed to have no end. Beside the business cards he found unused coupons, brochures from the mall and a calendar, which he turned it over. With a black marker some dates had circles in them and things written down. January the 5th was the day he returned to work after taking a few days off from the holidays, 2nd of February was Miles birthday, and the next day was written "Call Pegasus", by March he had scheduled further meetings, and even some of Aster's activities: his school exams, weekends were they would go to the cinema, the Junior Tournament...By May the 27th it was written the meeting with Pegasus, which Aster had completely forgotten about.

He then removed from the box his dad's I.D at Industrial Illusions. He looked at the picture: a blurry looking picture of his dad looking relaxed and facing the camera. He placed it separately. Finally, he reached the bottom, the dueling cards. There were a lot of them, but most Aster figured belonged to different decks which had been separated. The first card he removed was Enraged Battle Ox, he felt again the kick in his stomach. He looked around the kitchen. He could see from the window part of the garden, and the clear blue sky. The duel with his father, the first time he tried the Destiny Heroes...

Aster touched his face with his fingertips: it was wet. The last thing on the box was his Destiny Heroes deck. He held them gently, staring at the designs and reading each of the abilities of his cards. The deck his dad had designed for him, and for him alone. Drilldark, Celestial, Dogma, D-Cube, D-Fusion, Dreadmaster, Clock Tower Prison, Call of the Haunted...He remembered the first sketches his father did, and the finish product, all those saturdays figuring out together the monster's abilities, attack and defense points; their designs, their names. For the first time Aster got fully involved in the process of build a deck from scratch, and realized how time consuming it was. He kept passing each card, Doom, Captain Tenacious, Dasher, D-Chain, Dangerous...Aster dropped the cards. He counted them, and again, and again. He looked over the other papers and cards, perhaps, he had placed it accidently with another deck? Maybe he mixed it up with the business cards and coupons? Perhaps among the creases of the cardboard box. He turned it over: nothing came out of it.

He counted his Destiny Hero deck, and always the same number: 39 cards. Aster knew which card was missing: Destiny Hero Plasma. He burst open the door with the deck on his hands as Officer Kaneda and Miles were talking by the sofa. Both instantly stopped talking and stood up.

"Officer Kaneda, there is a card missing! Are you sure you took everything from my dad's office?" he said out of breath. Officer Kaneda kneeled down.

"Yes, but we could check again...what cards?" Aster noticed that Officer Kaneda was not the biggest fan of duel monsters, so he began his explanation. His dad's profession and how they designed a deck together, that a workable deck needed to have 40 cards but his deck had 39...

"And the card that's missing is my ace card: Destiny Hero Plasma!"

Aster was not sure if Officer Kaneda was following through.

"My deck is the only one of its kind, and it was registered as a full deck. We can check in Industrial Illusions, and it will show you, that there is only _one _Destiny Hero Plasma...and it's _mine". _ Aster lended the deck to Officer Kaneda who began counting them, and indeed, there were only 39 cards.

"All right" Officer Kaneda concluded "We'll go to the crime scene and investigate again...we'll keep in touch" he assured Aster as he walked towards the exit while talking in his walkie talkie. Once Miles and Aster were alone, the child turned to the adult:

"Miles, don't you think it's suspicious?" Miles patted him on the shoulder.  
"They'll probably find it in your home...C'mon Aster, we need to get ready".

Aster sat at the back of the dark limo which carried his father's casket, alongside Jade, Ruth, and Miles who was sitting next to the driver. Aster changed his sporty clothes to black shorts and jacket with a black tie which sat rather uncomfortably on his throat. Jade, who usually wore bright colours had changed for a simple black dress.

Miles had arranged everything: the driver, the casket, the ceremony, the burial...Very fast to Aster's liking. Now, there was no hope or "what ifs", had his dad been in a hospital bed in a coma. His dad was _dead_, and at the back of the truck they were carrying his body inside a large casket... Miles had spared most details, he just told him that everything was set, and Aster had to not worry about anything.

Even if the sky was blue, the cemetery was rather grey. Aster walked beside the casket while Miles and other co-workers carried it to the spot. Aster felt that he knew were they were going. And he was right, next to the grave of Dana Phoenix there was an empty spot big enough to fit another casket. A gravestone was already place on top of it:

"_Elias Phoenix, loving father and friend. Gone too soon. 1960-1998"_

Aster took a deep breath. It was happening, there was no turning back now. Gently the coworkers placed the casket in the ground, Aster was given a shovel and was the first one to throw dirt on top of it. Quietly, Miles followed him, then Ruth, Jade, and many of the co-workers from his father which Aster had briefly met in different occasions. The last person to approach was Mr D, Aster was watching him carefully as he struggled with the shovel and threw dirt in the ground. Once he was done, he walked and stood behind Aster. A small truck filled the rest with dirt and with that, his father was completely buried underground. Miles placed a large crown of flowers around the gravestone, while Mr. D placed another one in his mother's grave.

Slowly, they made their way towards the cars where they would get together in Mile's house. He saw Mr. D driving his own car, it was the one closest to the limo; the same car that a few months ago had taken them home with his dad. He rested his head on Jade's lap and closed his eyes.

It was over. No more dad, no more special dinners, his father was _dead_. He would never see his father again, he would never hear his voice again, hug him...He knew it was not his father's fault, it was the heartless bastard who had killed his father. In his mind he was already developing theories to what happened, as Officer Kaneda had said, the place of the incident was no coincidence. And now, with what seemed his Destiny Hero Plasma gone…

All at once, it hit him: the tournament. He had showed off his deck to the world, anybody could have stolen it, anybody could have killed his father. If only, if only Aster had not played the Junior's Tournament...what was it worth? A stupid trophy, a meeting with Pegasus ….and his father murdered. It was pointless, all pointless. Jade gently patted his head and told him they had arrived.

The first thing he saw once he stepped in the garden was a large picture of his father. The last time Aster had been to an event in Jade's garden was in her birthday. But now it looked completely different; while her birthday had loud music, balloons and candies, now the garden seemed rather empty. There were three tables, no decorations of any kind; Aster felt it was made in a rush. Miles began the talking:

"We are gathered here to say one last goodbye to my friend, and Aster's dad, Elias Phoenix". All eyes turned to Aster, once again, he felt the kick in his stomach.

"Well...I'm not sure where to start...not that I was imagining I would be in this situation soon, but…" he took a deep breath.

Aster's brain was switched off. He did not need someone to tell him how great of a person his father was, he knew that. It all felt surreal, but it was far from it. He had just came from burying his father in the dirt, he imagine him lying in the casket. People had told him that dead were "sleeping peacefully forever", but he knew the truth. His dad was dead. That's it. His life was cut short. Aster began looking around, he could feel the pity eyes of everyone around him. The poor eight year old child all alone in the world, without a father and without a mother; with nowhere to go. Everyone approached him carefully, measuring their words, people he did not know, telling him how great Elias was, and what a shame for what happened.

"So, sorry, Aster"

"Your father is in a better place now…"

Sorry for what? This was the place his father was meant to be. This life, this city, and no one where else. He excused himself to the bathroom, thankfully no one followed him. Once inside he locked the door, sat on the floor and cried. Hugging his knees he began sobbing, which later turned into crying. First he cried because of sadness, but the more he kept thinking the more his sadness turned into anger. His father did nothing wrong, his dad was an innocent man, and yet, someone murdered him in cold blood. His Destiny Hero deck felt heavy in his pocket. Only 39 cards, and he was almost sure that the 40th card was not in the apartment. He had no clue who that person could be or why. There were other card designers who created cards way more powerful than the Destiny Heroes, why did it have to be _his _father? _His_ deck?

When he stepped outside the bathroom most people were gone. Only the Trembley family and a few coworkers were in the garden looking at a photo album. Half laughing, half crying, they were pointing at the pictures and making comments about them. Aster approached closer:

"I dared Elias to jump to the pool from the first floor of the hostel...and the _bastard_ did it" Miles commented, laughter erupted from the group. "I mean, I would not have done it!". Aster sat by the house porch looking at the garden. He felt a hand on his shoulder, a big hand, so he knew it was not Jade.

"What a tragedy" concluded Mr. D as he sat next to him. "I won't ask you if you are okey, I know you are not."

"Yesterday I was having dinner with my father, and now…"

"I understand, I lost mine at a young age too".

Aster turned to look at him, with hope:

"What did you do?"

"What I could...and when you are ready, you'll get back on track, and life will figure out it self for you"

Aster was silent and kept listening.  
"Aster, don't lose hope; that's what I am saying. If you follow what destiny has in store for you, you'll be in the right track"

"But...how can I know what is my destiny?"

Pause.

"But right now, Aster. You should remember your father for who he was, not for what happened this day...As the loving father and friend he was".

Aster felt enough confidence to tell his theory to Mr. D:

"My deck was stolen, and I think that's the reason someone murdered my dad"

"Justice will always prevail in the end, never lose hope."

He slipped a business card with his number and finished:

"This is very hard on Miles too...if you need a break or need anything, don't be scared to contact me. With pleasure, I _owe_ it your father. I would help you in any way you need".

Aster would definitely think about it.

* * *

**this is longer than the average chapter.**

**Hope you all like it!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII**

Aster could see that the life at the Trembley house was returning. Very slowly, the household began falling into a routine, which Aster knew it existed way before him; but he had to find himself getting used to it. In most cases, it was not very different from his old routine, except when both parents were travelling and the house was empty. A year before, it was Aster's dad who would fill those gaps in taking care of both of them but now…

Aster opened the door for Mr. D who had agreed to check on both of them. He would make sure that both still went to school when the adults were absent, check if there was enough food and overall make sure the place was in a good state. He would often ask questions to Aster about how he was holding up and if there had been any advances in the investigation.

The boy shook his head.

"The card is nowhere to be found and they have no subjects" he answered while looking at the floor. Jade had left them to train with the gymnastic team at school, so it was only Mr. D and Aster at the park as they killed time waiting for her. He felt Mr. D pat his shoulder, which felt rather comforting.

Miles placed sheets of paper in the small coffee table. He sat next to Mr. D and both were looking at Aster expectantly. Miles was shaking his leg while Mr. D calmly tapped his fingers over his crossed leg.

"Now, Aster" Miles made a pause and cleared his throat. "There is something we need to discuss". The boy interest was peaked and waited expectantly.

"It has been a month since Elias passing...and at the moment, well you do not have other living relatives"

The child nodded and continued listening.

"By law, you are an _orphan_". Miles took a sip from his cup and cleared his throat again. Aster could notice the topic was making him rather uncomfortable.

"As Elias Phoenix's only son you have inherited all his property. That is, the penthouse, the car and his life savings…" The man turned over to Mr. D who continued.

"However, you are not allowed to administer it until you reach 18".

Miles extended the piece of paper to Aster:

"This is in detail all of Elias' belongings which are now yours".

"You need a legal guardian to administer all of your possessions and be in charged of your overall wellness at least until 18...after that, you are free to do as you wish".

_10 years _Aster thought as he scanned over the paper.

"Your father has not named a legal guardian for you...this means you can choose...Of course, you can take all the time you need" Miles added quickly. The man stood up and invited the remaining two to sit over the table to have dinner. The boy's head was spinning as he twirled the spaghetti in the plate without touching it. The conversation had cleared the boy with all appetite. As he was quiet looking at his plate, he could hear the lively conversation that were having Mr. D and Ruth. Mr. D definitely knew how to light up the mood.

"This year, I will reach pro" Mr. D declared. "I am confident I will".

"You know what they say...5th time's a charm" Miles added. To Aster it sound he was making fun of him, but Mr. D took no notice.

"I'll tell you Miles, I'll reach and _win_ the Pro League".

Jade chimed in:

"Why do you think so?"

"I have a new deck up my sleeve" the man answered and proceeded to place in the table his new deck. Aster raised his head with interest and just stared at the scene that was in front of him. They were mostly magic cards and trap cards, Aster figured that his strategy was centered around an Ace Monster. Still, he said nothing. However, Mr. D noticed staring.

"What are you thinking, Aster?" Mr. D asked as he smiled and moved one card across the table in front of the child. He looked at the card: Jinzo - Lord.

_This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by sending 1 face-up "Jinzo" you control to the Graveyard. Trap Cards cannot be activated and the effects of all Trap Cards on the field are negated. Once per turn, you can destroy all face-up Trap Cards. Inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed by this effect._

"The first match is next week, what do you think, Aster?"

Jade turned to him and answered for both as she placed an arm around Aster:

"We'll be there!"

Mr. D picked up Aster Sunday morning. This time, neither Jade or Miles choose to join them. As Mr. D turned and further away from the town, he realized were they were going. The grey doors filled with moss, the gloomy atmosphere...Aster made his way towards his dad's gravestone and placed a bucket of flowers which were purple and star shaped. He took some, and placed it on his mother's gravestone: he felt bad visiting and not leaving at least something.

"Hey" he found himself speaking to both gravestones. He would occasionally glance towards his mom's, but would mostly focus on his dad.

"Miles has been very nice to me...Also Mr. D, he is...he is really cool...I kinda wish you too got to talk a bit more". No answer.

"Also, Jade won the gymnastic competition! She was awesome, you would definitely have enjoyed it!". He quickly added

Silence.

"And...the Sub Season is starting. Mr. D told he me would take me to his matches, that would be fun...he said he will try to schedule a meeting with Mr. Pegasus for me…"

He felt a little stupid venting to the ground, but he couldn't stop himself. It was a comforting thought that perhaps his dad was listening and nodding to everything he said. He kept talking, not caring about the time or Mr. D waiting in the car while listening to music...It was only Aster and his dad and that was the only thing that mattered. He felt a few drops in his face...the boy was surprised as rain was not expected. It was a very thin rain, not uncomfortable, but enough to make him shiver a bit. Like a light transparent curtain it kept falling, and Aster was talking to Elias' gravestone about his murder case. It was grim, but the only person who knew what happened was his dad, he was the only one who would comfort him.

"I don't understand...they still have no clue about what happened". A sense of anger washed over the child, he clenched his fist. The police was useless, Officer Kaneda was completely clueless and Dr. Bauer insisted on having therapy seasons with Aster. Sympathetic looks from teachers, even other kids at his class followed him around.

"I promise dad...if...if the police don't find them..._I will". _Aster made a pause. That was a big promise he was making to his father, but he would follow it through no matter what. He felt he had to owe his father an explanation of how he would do such a thing. He had to be someone could meet lots of people, travel a lot, and specially have enough money to support it…

He stopped feeling the rain over him. He turned around to see a young boy placing an umbrella over him. He was familiar, Aster was sure he had seen the boy before: violet eyes and long violet hair...it was a face one would not forget. A small humble tent in Kaibaland a boy over a white table showing him tarot cards, it was…

"It's you! That fortune teller from Kaibaland…" he was in awe. "But...how did you found me?"

"The wheels of fate brought me back to you". Aster was sure he had heard that before. They both made their way back to Mr. D's car as Aster explained what had happened to his dad, which surprisingly, Sartorius already knew about that. The fortune teller removed a newspaper sheet from his black coat and showed it to Ast who read the headline:

"_No new leads in card designer's murder case". _

"It has been quite talked about in the press" Sartorius concluded as he placed the paper back in his pocket coat. Mr. D stepped out of the car to greet them, he turned over to Aster:

"It had been a while...I was getting worried" he messed with his hair playfully.

"Sorry…" Aster apologized as he looked to the ground. "I lost track of time…"

Mr. D gave him a sympathetic look and opened the car door.

"Who is your new friend? Would you like me to take you home?"

Sartorius tumbled a bit:

"Oh, that would be very nice of you…"

"So what do you do, kid?" Mr. D asked as he turned on the engine. The man's interest was peaked when he explained he was a fortune teller. Aster was surprised that Mr. D was very into it, asking Sartorius about his methods and his opinion on various topics.

"You know...I have met many fortune tellers and most of them seemed awful, but you seem quite legit" Mr. D complimented Sartorius.

"Thank you, sir" Sartorius was very polite and soft spoken. Definitely he was somebody who would stand out from a crowd, not only for his looks but his attitude. He had this mysterious aura around him. His presence was not unnoticed and definitely changed the lightly mood of the car's atmosphere. But Aster did not find the atmosphere heavy, and instead he felt quite safe; he knew for a fact he was not _scared_ of Sartorius.

They made a turn to an unknown part of town...at least to Aster. They reached an old brick building, rather small and unkept, which Sartorius pointed out it was his home. The streets were more greish and dirty, no green spaces around, except for a small square spark with one single and dry tree. It was not like Aster's penthouse or even Jade's town.

"Is...this where you live?" Aster asked. Mr. D glanced at him from the car mirror, Aster understood that look: "Don't be rude". He was about to apologize but Sartorius answered his question:

"Yes, I live with my sister". He gave them a smile and stepped out of the car.

Once they reached Jade's house Mr. D stopped the car and turned to Aster. The boy thought perhaps he was going to scold him again for being rude to Sartorius and asking him about his living conditions, but instead, he just gave him a hug.

As the family was gather together watching a movie the boy told Jade about his whereabouts.

"He said "_The wheels of fate brought me back to you_" Aster tried to imitate the fortune teller's voice while the girl giggled. His face suddenly turned serious.

"The strange thing is….I already knew something like this would happen". Jade shook her head, and Aster continued:

"I dreamt about it once"

The boy could see that his friend was not very convinced.

The next day brought the beginning of the tournament season. Following behind him as Mr. D exited his apartment was Sartorius. Aster greeted him with much surprise, and the young boy explained that Mr. D had asked him to read his fortune for the match.

"Will he win?" Aster asked expectedly.

"That will ruin the fun...but I will tell you: _I predict a very good outcome_". Sartorius tagged along with them to the stadium. Once they found their spots, Sartorius sat between both Aster and Jade. The boy looked around the stadium: it was rather small, not with the most advanced technology compared to the one in Kaibaland. It was mostly empty.

"I'll start things moving" Mr. D declared as he turned on his duel disk. He began by placing three cards face down and ended his turn.

His opponent, a young red headed man laughed and placed his monster Celtic Guardian (ATK 1400/ DEF 1200) in attack position. He placed one face down, and declared a direct attack on Mr. D, who activated his trap card: Damage Condenser, with this, after receiving the direct attack he sent one to his graveyard and summoned Disk Magician in attack position (ATK 1300/DEF 1000). Mr. D's life points were reduced to 2600, while his opponent had still 4000 points.

Mr. D activated his spell card Black Pendant and equipped it to Disk Magician, increasing its attack points by 500 (ATK 1800/DEF 1000), then, he activated his other Spell Card Premature Burial.

"Now you'll see the card I discarded with Damage Condenser…." Mr. D declared and brought back Jinzo (ATK 2400/ DEF 1500) from the graveyard. He attacked Celtic Guardian with Disk Magician; his opponent's life points were in 3500.

"When Destiny has your back, there is nothing you can do about it!" and attacked his opponent with Jinzo directly. His opponent was left only with 1100 life points.

Aster was in awe. He turned over to Sartorius who was smiling satisfied.

"You knew this would happen…" Sartorius chuckled, and grabbed a piece of popcorn from Aster's bucket.

"Certainly...It is in his destiny to be great duelist"

Aster glanced back at Mr. D. Indeed, his attitude was different. He had seen him on television a few times and always thought he was a anxious and boring man. There was something in him, something different; but Aster couldn't exactly figure what it was. He had a cocky smile, he stood up straight and was very confident in each and every move he took.

"He is acting different" Jade said as if he had been reading Aster's mind. Both nodded in agreement. "But...don't you find him a bit...scary?" she added shyly.

Aster gave it a thought. He didn't found Mr. D scary, instead, he thought he looked more intimidating yes, not someone to be mocked at, by almost everyone, even by Jade's dad as a good for nothing duelist, but in this battle, he had the duel right in the palm of his hand. Everything his opponent did, he was able to counter it and use it as an advantage for himself. In six turns, Mr. D was able to claim is victory with a direct attack by Jinzo Lord, thus being able to pass to the next face. Undefeated, Mr. D was the winner of the Season's Sub League, thus allowing him to reach the Pro Leagues for the first time.

Mr. D celebrated his victory with a meeting at his apartment. A second floor apartment, the Trembley's along with Aster were greeted with a large hallway covered in mirrors. Inside, the living room which was the center of the house, definitely it was the biggest room, with two large sofas, one in facing the window, and the other at the corner, both completely black with white pillows. From the ceiling, was hanging a white pendant-like light which it's light bulbs were inside a transparent circle. Aster was sure there where more than five.

He placed the bowl of chips he had bought from the Trembley house, already there were bottles and some glasses ready to be served. Aster wondered how many people were expected to come.

"Wow D, it sure is a nice apartment, you have quite the taste" Ruth said as she sat on the sofa and opened a bottle of soda.

"Thank you, please make yourself feel at home". He left them to bring from the kitchen home-cooked pizza. More guests showed up, including Sartorius along with his sister and some of Mr. D's friends.

Aster, Jade, Sartorius and Sarina were the youngest of the meeting compared to the rest of the guests who around 30 years of age. They gathered close to the window while their cards while drinking juice and soda. Jade approached Sartorius and asked him about his deck. He spared the cards on the floor revealing his Arcana deck.

"It's the only one of its kind".

Aster turned towards Sarina, he assumed they were the same age, but she had said nothing since they had arrived:

"What about you? Can you see the future like Sartorius?"

She shook her head and answered while playing with her dark hair looking at the floor, almost hiding her face:

"My abilities are not as good as my brother's". Sartorius placed a hand over his sister's shoulder:

"It's not just the ability that makes a great fortune teller, it's how much practice you put into it".

Their talk was interrupted when Mr. D called the attention of all the guests:

"Thank you everybody for joining me tonight". He raised his glass. "I know what it's like being laughed at, a good for nothing...I will never forget my origins". Everybody rose their glass in unison.

"Here is a toast, for the underdogs, the low achievers...for the friends who are no longer with us now" he glanced at Aster as he said that. After a while, Mr. D approached the kids, he saw no longer had any food near them so, he brought them a new pizza. He kneeled alongside with them and asked:

"How is it going, kids? Having fun?" they all nodded enthusiastically.

"You two" he looked towards Jade and Aster "You better be making sure that both Sartorius and Serena are feeling welcome in here" he spoke in a serious tone, but Aster knew he was mostly joking.

"Yes, sir!" both kids nodded enthusiastically.

"How do you find the place?"

"It's very nice" Aster answered.

"The pizza is delicious!" Jade added.

They stayed over well into the night. The Trembleys were the last to leave as they choose to help Mr. D with the cleaning of the apartment. Miles helped clean the glasses, while Mr. D brushed a broom in the floor and Aster and Jade picked up the wraps of paper...

_Crash!_

They all turned around to find Aster in the floor and glass around him. Aster had stumbled, throwing the small glass statue of a female figure over himself. He was surrounded by small pieces of glass around him, his arms were cut with small pieces of glass as he tried covering his face. Aster looked around, confused. He noticed the crushed pieces of glass on the floor red with blood and his scraped knees…He rose his head, the room was becoming blurier, and darker...a window with no glass burst open and table turned over. He began breathing heavily, his body froze looking over the scattered pieces. He wasn't exactly sure what to do or where he was. He wanted someone to open a door or something, he felt as if the room was getting smaller and smaller.

He broke off his state when he felt two strong arms carrying him. His vision was still blurry, his breath was heavy, but he recognized he was in the bathroom sitting on the lid of the toilet. A hand gently grabbed his arm and with a cotton alcohol over them, he winced once it touched his skin. He looked up, very slowly his vision was becoming less blurry, but the pounding of his chest was strong. He recognized Mr. D, who was rubbing the alcohol and removing the glass pieces with a pair of tweezers. He then covered the arms with a white bandage. Aster was still feeling a little dizzy. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything Mr. D had already placed a wet piece of cloth over his forehead, which Aster held with his hand once the man had finished covering his arm. Very slowly Aster began unclenching his muscles, not realizing how tense he had been before. He followed with his gaze quietly as Mr. D proceeded with his other arm.

Once he was done Mr. D kneeled in front of him.

"I'm sorry for breaking the statue" he said.

"Don't worry, Aster. What is most important is that you are okey".

"Come on!" he said as he extended his arm, "Let's go back to the living room".

Aster agreed as he glanced over his large frame. He was thin, but had broad shoulders. Aster hadn't realized how tall the man was until that moment. Mr. D noticed him staring and smiled. Aster was sure it was a smile bright enough to lighten up any dark room.

* * *

**I'm back! **

**I'm so sorry for the long pause. I had writters block **

**Thank you for your patience! :) **


	13. Chapter 13

Aster shuffled his cards nervously as the elevator reached the 24th floor of Industrial Illusions while Mr. D was right at his side with his hands over his pockets humming a melody unknown to Aster. Once the doors elevators opened the boy took a deep breath.

They walked the long hallway until they reached a red door. With his hand shaking, he knocked twice on the door which opened itself revealing a very fancy living room. It had columns on each corner that were embroidered with a complex vine pattern, a large circular sofa on the center, in which underneath rested a large carpet. Aster saw thin drapes that covered the windows which shone with the sunlight coming through, the boy was sure that they were encrusted with real diamonds. Wherever Aster look he found something: the room was filled with antiques, paintings and various small details. From the other end of the room, the brown wooden doors opened revealing the man himself, the creator of Duel Monsters and owner of Industrial Illusions...Maximillion Pegasus.

He walked slowly and gracefully, with his hands on his back followed by two butlers who each carried a trolley filled with food. Pegasus stopped right in front of Aster. The first thing he noticed was his height: very tall and lean. Aster glanced at his long thin fingers with diamond rings and his perfectly polished nails as he extended his hand to greet him. Part of his face was visible, while the other was covered with long and straight grey hair.

"_Aster-boy_! What a pleasure to finally meet you!" he greeted him as he shook his hand. He gestured towards the sofa. He sounded very polite, but his tone was kind, as if he was genuinely happy to meet the boy. There was a strange musicality in his voice.

"Please sit, Aster-boy. Take anything you like".

The butlers handed him a cup and poured tea with two cubes of sugar.

"Thank you for bringing him. May I please be alone with Aster-boy?" He glanced towards Mr. D who kindly nodded and exited the room closing the door behind him.

Pegasus held a pink cup of tea between his hands and stared at him with his blue eye. Aster shuffled in his sit, it was as if Pegasus could see right through his soul.

"My, my...you do look just like _him..._First and foremost, I would like to offer my deepest condolences about Phoenix-boy's passing." Pegasus moved a hand towards his chest and added:

"The most vile attack against a duelist is steal from their deck". He left the cup back on the table and handed him the plate of cookies as he gestured for the child to eat. Aster shyly took a chocolate chip.

"Now, Aster-boy...please tell me about _this_ deck of yours". Pegasus sat with his legs crossed expectantly. The boy began explaining how the deck came to be, how he had helped design it with his father. As Aster explained, the man nodded, just answering with "oh" and "ah, I see". Aster talked about the local tournament he had won and his different strategies. Finally, Pegasus spoke again:

"You seem to be quite knowledgeable in the art of dueling, Aster-boy. But, do you have the skills to beat me?"

The boy followed the man towards the arena. He stepped inside a room with a high ceiling. Pegasus explained it had been completely renovated a few years ago.

"This is the same arena I dueled Yugi Muto" he said casually as he placed himself on the left side. Aster placed himself in front, and turned on his duel disk.

"I will open this duel...I'll sacrifice a 1000 life points to activate my field spell: Toon World!". The field was changed into a gigantic pop up book, a dark cartoon-like castle stood behind Pegasus.

"Next, I summon Toon Gemini Elf (ATK 1900/DEF 900) in attack position!"

Aster summoned Destiny Hero Drilldark (with its special ability, he was able to summon Destiny Hero Fear Monger (ATK 1000/DEF 1000) as well. He placed one card face down and ended his turn. In Pegasus turn, he sacrificed his Toon Gemini Elf to Special Summon Toon Summoned Skull (ATK 2500/DEF 1200). Like a clown coming out of a surprise box, the gigantic monster appeared on the field.

He attacked his Destiny Hero Drilldark causing him 900 points of damage: Aster had 3100 life points, while Pegasus had 3000. Activating his trap Card, Destiny Signal, Aster summoned another Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400)) from his deck.

"Don't you love toons, Aster-boy? They are very popular in America!".

Aster knew that the source of Pegasus's power was in Toon World, he had to destroy it. He placed a card face down and summoned another Destiny Hero Drilldark ATK (1600 DEF 1200). He ordered Destiny Hero Celestial to attack Pegasus monster, which of course, did not destroyed it, instead, it destroyed Aster's monster and cause Aster damage: now he had 2200.

"Why would you do such a thing, Aster-boy?" Pegasus wondered.

"Maybe you have forgotten, but Celestial has a special ability: I can target one face up spell card you control and destroy it...and I target Toon world!"

Pegasus suffered 500 points of damage for Celestial's effect, so he was left with 2500 life points.

"With this, Toon Summoned Skull is destroyed!". he declared while pointing his index finger at Pegasus. Aster declared a direct attack with Fear Monger, leaving Pegasus with 1500 life points.

"Very well, Aster...however, not so much…" Pegasus replied with a sad tone.

"First, i activate the spell card Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards from my deck." He made a pause.

"Now, I activate the Toon Table of Contents: allowing me to add one toon card to my hand...and I choose, Toon Kingdom!"

He proceeded to banish three cards from the top of his deck to activate the card. He placed one card face down in defense position and one card face down in his magic and trap zone. As he was about to end his turn, Aster activated his face down, D-Fusion summoning Destiny Hero Drilldark and Destiny Hero Fear Monger to summon Destiny Hero Dangerous (ATK 2000/DEF 2600).

"I think what you will see is quite familiar, I'll show you!" Aster began: he activated Pot of Greed, thus drawing two cards from his deck. Next, he activated his spell card Terraforming to add Clock Tower Prison from his deck, activating it. Aster's side on the field had turned misty, and behind him a large clock tower stood. He placed two cards face down. He attacked the defense monster that was on Pegasus field, however, using Toon Kingdom effect he banished one card from the top of his deck and the monster was not destroyed.

Pegasus summoned Toon Goblin Attack Force in attack position (ATK 2300/DEF 0), as Pegasus launched an attack on Dangerous, Aster activated his monster's special ability: his send one D-Cube (ATK 0/DEF 0) from his hand to his graveyard, and with Drilldark, Fear Monger and two D-Cubes, his monster had an increase of 200 attack points for each.

With an attack of 2800 points, Pegasus' Toon Goblin was destroyed, and caused him 500 points of damage. Pegasus had 1000 life points, while Aster remained with 2200.

"The tables have turned!" Aster declared as he activated his trap card D-counter to move the clock forward two spots: only one more turn until the clock struck midnight. He summoned Destiny Hero Doom (ATK 600/DEF 800).

Pegasus turn began with a loud sound coming from the clock as it struck midnight. He activated his card Comic Hand, and placed a card face down.

"This has been a very intense duel Aster-boy, but I am about to end it right here".

With his spell card, Pegasus took control of Dangerous, which was turned into a toon monster itself. Because Aster had no Toons on his side of the field, he could attack directly: Aster was left with just 200 life points. Confident, Pegasus ended his turn.

Aster had to turn the duel right now. First, what he had been waiting for: vanish clock Tower Prison by summoning his field spell Dark City.

"Get ready as here it comes!" Aster declared as he summoned Destiny Hero Dreadmaster. The field began to shake, as Dreadmaster freed itself from the clock prision, jumping to the middle of the field with a loud roar. Activating its ability, he summoned Drilldark and Fear Monger from his Graveyard. Combining the attack of two Drilldarks (ATK 1600), Celestial (1600), Fear Monger (1000) Dreadmaster attack was a total of 5800 points, and attacked Dangerous. Pegasus did not seemed affected by the strong attack, instead, he turned off his duel disk and clapped.

With both, Mr. D and Aster in the living room, they were ready to discuss business.

"I am willing to provide Aster-boy with a sponsorship…He definitely has proved himself today with me".

Both, Mr. D and Aster turned towards each other, pleased.

"To enhance your abilities, Aster-boy, I consider it is appropriate for you to learn of the art of dueling in America."

"You mean to leave Domino City? But isn't _this _the metropolis of Duel Monsters?" Aster wondered

"Indeed it is. However, as we are reaching a new millenium, the nature of Duel Monsters is changing, but sadly, we are still a few years behind the United States in that _aspect_".

Aster was not exactly following, he glanced towards Mr. D who listened intrigued.

"Its is not a matter of local or national tournaments anymore, Aster-boy. Its about going international, about character...I will arrange some phone calls and will discuss this later, shall we?"

When Aster walked away from the building he was unsure how long he had been inside the building; the sun was already setting. They walked over to a small coffee shop a few blocks away, which was rather empty. It had never crossed Aster's his mind to leave Domino in order to begin his training. He glanced out the window: the nightlife of the city was slowly revealing itself in front of him. The busy streets, the car horns, he wondered what the United States had to offer different from Domino City. The boy focused his sight on a couple walking by the other side of the street. He followed them with his glance as they walked slowly, crossing the street and getting inside the coffee shop.

"We don't have to move _now_...you can think about it for as long as you want" Mr. D encouraged him. Aster stopped looking from the window as he focused on the pronoun used, _we_.

"We? You would go with me?"

"Well if you want me to, of course!". He made a pause "You think I would just ship you to a plane by yourself to America?" the boy slightly blushed. It definitely would be easier to leave to the states with somebody, rather than by his own devices... Aster's thoughts were interrupted by the small T.V screen on the side of the coffee shop. They both saw as last year's International champion, Eddie Wilde, walked towards the stage of a talk show. He began discussing about the International champions that were beginning soon. After winning the last year's Pro-Leagues undefeated, he choose to step down from competing and instead, would occasional appear in talk shows and comment of the duels of the season. It didn't took Aster long to figure out why a man who had stepped down from the game was still relevant, he could see he was quite charming: cracking jokes with the talk host and interacting with the audience.

Mr. D payed for his espresso and both got in the car. They were driving slowly, while soft music was playing in the background. Aster hummed to some of the tunes he recognized: Mr. D was a fan of English music just like his father. Different from other times, Aster was allowed to sit at the front seat, with a seatbelt. Once they arrived at Jade's home Aster unlocked himself from his seat.

"Thank you!" he shouted as he rushed inside, his head still thinking about Mr. D's offer: he was willing to travel with him.

Aster was not expecting Dr. Hamada to be a woman. Impeccably dressed in her pearl pencil skirt with matching dress coat, Mr. D introduced her as his lawyer. The process for adoption was more complicated than the boy had initially thought. He was interviewed by Dr. Hamada twice, with Mr. D and without him. As the boy began living with Mr. D, Dr. Haga would show up unexpectedly and look around the apartment. She would usually come unannounced and would stay for fifteen minutes to one hour. Aster didn't asked much about the on-going process, Mr. D had explained that Dr. Hamada was making sure that he had the right mediums and was fit to act as a legal guardian for Aster.

On a Friday afternoon, Mr. D slammed the papers in the coffee table, with a grin across his face.

"It's ready!"

The moving process was very quickly. Aster packed his bags from Jade's, Mr. D placed the child's old home on sale and it was done. Very quickly, perhaps, too quickly. HE never would have imagined he would go through three homes and two legal guardians in the span of two months. Mr. D had assured him that he could take any time he needed: he could stay with Jade if he wanted, and bring over friends. Looking deep in his blue eyes Mr. D assured him:  
"I will not force you to call this your new home not to call _me_ your father." he passed the gel pen towards Aster:

"_I just want you to feel comfortable_".

Aster's head was pounding as he turned of the night lamp. He glanced over his new room, it was a little bigger than the one at his old home. He glanced over at the picture of him and his father during New Year which was resting on the nightstand.

How his life had changed so quickly. If only a different timeline was possible. One where his father was alive, and they would have pizza with D, Miles, Jade and Sartorius at the shop down the corner. He imagined the smell of the restaurant, the conversation, which pizza topping his father would choose, Miles scolding Mr. D for choosing the strangest combination. It was a fun memory, a great memory...

Aster could almost feel it as real. If only, his dad was here. What would he think about living Domino? What would Elias Phoenix do?

* * *

**It has been a while...So much stuff has been going on my personal life that has kept me away from writing (but good stuff!)**

**Basically I graduated and I'm moving to DC for a few months! ****I imagined I would be finishing this fic before January, but now I doubt it haha. However I dont mind writing from my small DC room :) **

**Also kiinda began planning an older!Jade x Aster fic in DA (but i just have like two paragraphs haha), maybe one day it will see the light of the day. **

**Short chapter, is better than no chapter. **

**Have a nice weekend :D**


	14. Chapter 14

One could say that in D's household two other people lived there: Sartorius and Sarina. They were regular guests, staying for dinner almost every day. Aster could notice that both of them were very grateful: he had noticed Sarinas dirty robes and Sartorious bony face.

Aster couldn't help and be drawn towards Sartorius: his calming presence, quiet demeanor and his Arcana deck. He had never seen a deck made out of cards which had two possible side effects. Aster had thought that tossing the card up or down to define the outcome of a duel would be quite tricky, but Sartorius thought otherwise:

"I'm just following what it is written". Aster shook his head

"But if it is all written does that mean we do not have free will?" he asked.

Sartorius showed him one of his cards: The fool.

"Ignorance is bliss. Those unaware of destiny they may think they have free will".

Aster pressed on the matter:

"But if _you _are aware of it, does that mean you do not have free will?"

The other kid gave it a thought.

"Let me put it this way" he grabbed The Fool and shoved it back to his deck. He placed a new card in front of Aster: The Lovers.

"Do you think that there are people who you are meant to meet? Sometimes, you are destined to meet a person and they will stay in your life forever, other times, they may only be briefly in your life, but they will teach you a lesson".

He made a pause. He shoved the card back in his deck and placed the Wheel of Fortune:

"We are all destined for something. We don't notice, but we are always making choices"

Aster nodded.

"What you chose is determined by your past and your present, and this, defines your future-"

They were interrupted by Mr. D and the fortune teller placed his tarot cards. Before every duel, Mr. D asked Sartorius to read his fortune, and forsee the outcome of duels. Sartorius had always been right, and Mr. D trusted all his predictions. Once his fortune was read, he turned towards Aster who had watched the whole reading session.

"Winning is a piece of cake when Destiny gots your back"

It sounded quite catchy and the boy liked it.

As the final tournament of the season, the Kaiba Dome was packed with spectators. Mr. D had reached the final and if he won, perhaps he was ready to compete Professionally. Aster was sitting in the first row, he was at the edge of his sit shaking his legs vigorously. He noticed Sartorius staring and turned towards the violet haired boy. Sartorius handed him the popcorn and commented:

"Looks like you are about to sprint over to the field" He placed gently a hand over the boy's knee, who stopped shaking.

Jade leaned over, next to Sartorius and gave Aster a playful smile.

"It's going to be very fun!" she gave him the thumbs up.

The judge gave the announcement that the duel was about to begin. Both duelists emerged from behind a cloud of smoke and walked slowly facing each other. The crowd erupted in cheers as the match begun.

Mr. D's opponent was a young boy with a thick accent who introduced himself as Jason, and was very proud of the fact he had reached the finals without losing a single duel.

"I would usually let the old man beguin, but if I may" Jason declared as he opened the duel. In his first turn, he summoned Gladiator Beast Andal (ATK 1900/DEF 1500), and placed two cards face down.

"Thank you, Jason. I hope you can learn a few tricks from an old, like myself" Mr. D introduced himself. He drew a card and summoned Blackwing Sirocco the Dawn (ATK 2000/DEF 900), a five star monster, that using it's special ability, as Mr. D was not controlling any monster on his side, while his opponent was, he was able to summon it without sacrifices. He placed a card face down, and confidently launched an attack on Gladiator Beast.

"Stop right there!" Jason declared as he revealed his face down card, Inverse Universe. With this trap card, Mr. D's monster, which had an attack of 2000, was changed to his defense points. Of course, the attack of Blackwing Sirocco was useless, and ended up destroying the monster and causing a 1000 in damage to Mr.D's life points.

Mr. D was left with 3000 life points, while his opponent had the remaining 4000.

"That's no good…" Aster turned towards Sartorius, who did not seemed worried. "What's the matter Aster?" he turned his violet eyes towards the boy. "The duel is only over once one of the player's life points reach 0". There was really nothing they could do, just keep watching.

Once Aster set his eyes on the field again, Jason had already summoned another Gladiator Beast Andal (ATK 1900/DEF1500). The boy clenched his teeth, Mr. D had his field wide open and two direct attacks on him would leave him in a clear disadvantage. As Jason declared an attack, Mr. D activated his trap card Dimensional Prison, banishing one of the Gladiator Beasts, still he suffered a direct attack of 1900 leaving him with 1100.

"Lucky shot…"Jason declared as he spit the ground. "You are making it seem so easy!"

"First, I activate my spell card: Goblin Thief!", Jason lost 500 life points while Mr. D recovered 500.

"Then, I'll…" Mr. D's hand froze as he was picking one of his cards. He look around the stadium gasping for air, he placed a hand slightly over his neck. Aster could notice he was having trouble breathing. He looked over to Sartorius who was reading his Tarot cards that were resting on his knees. Jade leaned forward from her seat and gave Aster a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Sir?" his opponent asked quite worried. Mr. D dropped to his knees and kept gasping for air. A nurse began slowly approaching him, and almost like a roar, he shouted: "Do not approach me". Aster was certain that the color on Jason's face had completely drained. In what seemed like forever, Mr. D was able to gain back his composure and resume the duel. He loosened his tie, and rolled up his sleeves.

"My deepest apologies, Jason, I suffer from a _condition_" he answered coldly.

"Aster…" Jade said almost in a whisper. "There it is again" she gestured her head towards Mr. D. Jade had a theory that Mr. D changed quite a bit when he dueled, looking more intimidating and more ruthless, however Aster would shrug it off as her being sensitive. Of course duelists had to be intimidating. Pro leagues were about winning, not about making friends.

"He is...scary" she commented. Aster briefly glanced at Sartorius, towards his lap. He noticed the card The Devil, which Sartorius quickly put away. He gave Aster a sympathetic look, as if saying "What's wrong?" and gave him a shy smile. Aster brushed it off, he did not know much about Tarot, he was not even sure if Sartorius was trying to read again the outcome of the duel. He was sure that card had not been drawn the first time. From the corner of his eye he saw Sartorius shuffling his deck, and he extended his hand awkwardly towards the popcorn.

"Let's end this, shall we?" Mr. D declared emotionless. He activated his spell card Monster Reborn, bring back Blackwing (ATK 2000/DEF 900). In his next move he activated Pot of Greed, allowing him to draw two cards from his hand. He activated his spell card: Black Luster Soldier Ritual", Aster saw he removed two Blackwings Bora the Spear (both had 4 stars), and thus, Black Luster Soldier (ATK 3000/DEF was summoned. Mr. D placed a card face down, and declared an attack on Gladiator Beast with Blackwing, causing Jason to lose 100 points. Then, he declared a second direct attack with Black Luster Soldier, leaving him with just 400 points. The crowd was silent. In a single turn not only Mr. D had been able to turn the result upside down, but make Jason loose a total of 3600 life points. Aster could notice that Jason's confident attitude was slowly cracking. He seemed rather lost, as if, not sure what had just happened. Aster could see Jason's grey eyes scanning his cards, being quite unsure of what to do next. Jason summoned a monster in defense position and a card face down. Aster realized that Jason had basically given up. He looked unsure, looking around and clenching his cards. Mr. D was ready to give the final blow. He declared an attack with Blackwing to his defense monster, Jason, did not bothered to activate his card face down. He wondered if he simply placed it for show, or if really, he considered the match lost. Mr. D won the duel by declaring a direct attack with Black Luster Soldier. Jason winced in pain and fell to his knees. As confetti began falling from the ceiling, and the crowd erupted in cheers, Mr. D walked past his opponent without even acknowledging him.

Aster imagined Mr. D would be jumping and kicking, however, he was rather calm. Standing in the middle of the stadium taking in all the cheers and claps. A satisfied smile run across his lips.

The kids rushed trying to catch Mr. D before he would be taken over by the cameras and fans. Aster made his way until he was standing in first line, next to a reporter who was asking Mr. D some questions.

"I knew I would win" Aster caught Mr. D saying. "You see, with Destiny on my side, I'll always win...I'm the Destiny Duelist, after all.". He stood straight, never breaking eye contact with the reporter and he looked very confident. He answered most questions briefly, he noticed Aster standing next to the reporter and they exchanged glances for a second. Mr. D continued focus on the question and answering to all reporters. He felt Sartorius grab him by the arm.

"I think it's better if we wait for him in his dressing room". Aster had no choice but follow him. The dressing room was more like a small waiting area with a sofa and a vanity. It was rather empty, and it had Mr. D's suitcase, and Aster's coat. Inside the room he looked around, and then, looked back at Sartorius.

"Where is Jade?"

Sartorius glanced around surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry...I thought she was behind me"

As Aster was about to step outside, he saw the girl.

"Jade! I've been looking for you!" Aster answered surprised.

"Well, I thought it would be better to stay here while we wait...the crowd seemed to really like him"

"Yeah! That's what Sartorious told me so I followed him".

Jade fell silent. She closed the door behind her, the outside noise was becoming louder, the boy figured Mr. D was approaching the room.

"Oh, so you too were already here" she made a pause.

"Yeah!" Aster answered cheerfully, "and I was going to look for you".

"Sartorius did not tell me" she muttered.

"Well…" Aster answered "He said you were right behind him!"

"No, I wasn't-"

The door opened and Mr. D stepped inside. He looked at the kids and gave them a smile.

"Well...that was interesting!". Aster glanced towards Jade who went over to handle Mr. D his suitcase.

"Now...we need to find a way to return home!"

Mr. D seemed to be his usual self, Aster thought relieved.

With the victory, came recognition, and with that, came interviews and...money. Aster noticed they had dinner in some fancier restaurants. Soon enough, Mr. D quit his job at Industrial Illusions to dedicate to dueling full time. His eyes were set on the Pro Season that would start soon. Aster had explained that sadly, Mr. D could not help him settle in the States, as after two weeks, he would travel back to Domino to participate. But he encouraged him that Sartorius would be with him at all times.

"But don't you want Sartorius read your cards?"

"Nah" Mr. D shrugged it off. "I can have him read my Fortune over the phone, but you need someone you know and trust in the States...especially in the first few days!". Aster looked over to the recently bought luggage, he still had to find a way to tell Jade about it.

Aster waited for Jade to come over for lunch. His suitcase laid in the hallway, empty. As he imagined many scenarios in his head of how she would react, he heard the ring bell. Excitedly, he rushed to open the door, only to find Officer Kaneda standing awkwardly. It had been three months since he last saw him.

"Good morning, Aster" the man said as he removed his hat. "May I come in?"

The boy allowed him to sit on the chair. As always, he was wearing his police uniform, his bandage shining bright and proudly on the right side of his chest.

"Officer Kaneda" Mr. D approached the living room. "What brings you here?"

Silence.

"I came to apologize. I came to inform you that the case of Elias' Phoenix murder has gone cold". Aster clenched his teeth and jumped from the sofa.

"You can't do that!"

Aster felt Mr. D pat him on the shoulder and gestured him to sit again in the sofa.

"Aster, let Officer Kaneda finish". The boy stared at his shoes as the officer explained that there were simply no subjects, no apparent cause, besides from a normal robbery and they would stop with the investigation.

"But what about the card? Have you found it?"

Officer Kaneda shook his head.

"We could not find the card in Industrial Illusion's database" Officer Kaneda explained.

"What do you mean by that?" Aster cried.

"When a card is erased from the database, it is as if it never existed. It is completely banned from any competition, and there is no possible way to track it" Mr. D explained.

"We don't even know what the card looks like...now there is no registry of the card even existing."

Aster jumped from his seat.

"I told you the day you gave me my cards to look on the database, and you didn't. I told you that the murder was motivated to steal Plasma. Maximillian Pegasus has seen it, and he knows" Aster began shouting at Officer Kaneda "Maximillian Pegasus knows the card is real and that it's very powerful. You cannot tell me a card simply vanished from existence!" the boy began pointing his finger at Officer Kaneda accusingly.

"I do not doubt you, Aster. Indeed, we checked the database for the Destiny Hero deck, and as you said...there are 39 cards".

"The card is still missing!" Aster stated the obvious.

"Yes, but sadly, there isn't much we can-"

"Don't you have a suspect? _Anything_?" the boy interrupted.

Aster began feeling his cheeks getting warmer and warmer.

"I can't believe this!" he shouted as he rushed to his room and locked the door behind him.

He heard Mr.D calmly trying to talk to the policemen. Angry tears were coming from Aster's eyes. Police had been completely useless. He doubt they even bothered searching enough. To Aster it was enough proof that a killer and a thief was still on the loose. Even going as far as to delete the card from the database. It would be much difficult to track, and by being erased it would automatically be banned from use.

He heard a gentle knock on his door.

"If it's Officer Kaneda I have no business with you!"

Mr. D opened the door and sat in his bed, he gestured the boy to sit as well.

"Officer Kaneda has left, if that's what you are wondering" Mr. D told him. Aster turned around avoiding eye contact with Mr. D, who kept talking.

"I won't scold you. I understand your anger." Mr. D gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"You know, people have their different views on justice and law. Just because Officer Kaneda couldn't find the killer of your father it doesn't mean he stands by it."

"Wouldn't a police officer try everything in it's power to reach the truth? I thought that's what policemen are for."

Mr. D sighed.

"It is the ideal of course, but it isn't what happens. Investigation takes times and money and many people have their own cases in need of investigation everyday...and they all think, with good reason, that their case is the most important."

"You said you lost your father at a young age. What happened?" Aster wondered.

"Well...my father was involved with some big fish of the Underground Dueling Scene, I don't know the full story, but what I can tell you is that they had enough resources to never get caught."

Aster gave it a thought.

"And don't you wish justice was served?"

"Well yes. Revenge is pretty much a natural feeling. Why do you think I tried so hard to reach the Pro Leagues?"

Aster was not following.

"You are a little young to understand but...by reaching Pro, you meet people, you travel the world…"

"You would like to find them" Aster finished.

"Well, yes...sometimes there is nothing left to do than to take justice into your own hands."

"Why do you duel, D?" Aster asked. He remembered asking the same question to Jade. He remebered that dream he head of himself explaining that he dueled for revenge...maybe his older self was not as scary as he had thought. Mr. D chuckled.

"You know, ever since winning, I began asking myself that question...I'm not sure yet."

He smiled at Aster. "I think it is important to have a reason, and you'll figure it out as you duel. What moves you to duel, who do you duel for." Aster nodded his head.

"I think...I duel for myself. For fun, as a test to my own abilities...I hope in America you find your own reasons". He lightly patted Aster in the head and stood up.

They both heard the ring bell again. This time Aster was sure it was Jade.

"I think you have another challenge at the moment…She needs to know that we leave in five days".

Jade sat with her eyes wide open. Her green eyes were to much for Aster to bear. She remained silent, which made it much worse.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked in a whisper, a single tear falling from her cheek.

"I just...I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you"

Silence.

"I...I didn't want you to get mad or something"

"Well, I am mad. Because you told me just five weeks before you are leaving." She looked at him, her eyes a mixture of tears and anger. "How would you have want me to find out? Just come up here and find out you are gone?"

"I know...I...I should have tell you sooner" Aster apologized.

"Since when have you known?"

He knew very well her answer would make her more angry, but he prefered being honest:

"Like...two months…"

"Don't best friends tell eachother everything?" she wondered looking in his eyes. He wanted to avoid eye contact as much as possible. He grabbed her hand.

"I was afraid...I...the hardest part of leaving Domino is leaving you behind…and-"

They both turned around to find Sartorius who had return with his sister with groceries. He noticed that Jade was not very amused.

"They live here…" Aster whispered, making Jade frown even more. The boy had a feeling that his friend did not like the tarot reader very much.

* * *

**Merry Christmas everyone! My gift is a slightly longer chapter :D**


	15. Chapter 15

Jade's face said it all: disappointment. Aster had never seen someone sit so gloomy at a coffee shop before. She refused to order anything while he and Sartorius drank hot chocolate and chatted. Sartorius had chosen the place, which Aster found it quite charming. A small coffee shop in front of the T.V studio where Mr. D was hosting an interview. They turned their faces towards the large T.V screen as the presenter introduced Mr. D. After his victory, he had become quite a celebrity.

"He is very confident" Sartorius commented, Aster heard Jade sigh. D sat comfortably in the brown leather sofa cracking jokes and explaining his strategy. Aster grabbed a bite from the cheesecake that was in Sartorius plate, he turned towards the girl and pointed at her with his fork.

"Want some?"

She shook her head and said nothing. _Jeez_, girls were difficult. He examined her: her eyes glued to the T.V, he already said he was sorry, and after much talking she understood. Aster was not exactly thrilled of partying ways with her, but it was part of life. Mr. D had told him that. Perhaps they would meet years later, like two people destined to run into each other again, or perhaps, that was simply the end of their friendship. Sartorius elbowed him and made him look back on the TV.

"Now" the presenter turned serious while looking at the audience. He looked as gloomy as Jade at the coffee shop. "Digging some research, I know you have an adoptive son, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. His name is Aster, and he is eight years old".

"Must be hard...especially adopting a child so old...what brought you to do it?"

"Well, Aster is the son of the well known card designer Elias Phoenix".

"The card designer who was found dead in his penthouse?"

_Murdered_, Aster thought.

"The same one. And when I read the story…" Mr. D made a pause "I was in such shock."

"You see, I knew the guy. We did High school together...then I lost contact with him, and years later I met him again." he continued.

"How did you meet again?" the presenter insisted. Aster held his breath, he knew the answer:

"Mr. Phoenix's wife, the boy's mother of course. We met at a golf course, and there I met Elias again, Aster was already born at that time".

"Well, Elias, he was such a good man; and a very talented card designer! When I heard the news, I knew I had to help in any way I could, so...I decided to adopt the boy. As he had no other living relatives other than his father"

"That is very noble" the presenter answered.

"Thank you. But I don't care about the compliments. I just want the boy to grow into the amazing duelist he is...perhaps in a few years he will be sitting in this same chair!". The presenter moved on to ask about gossip, if he had met a nice woman or was married, which Aster did not find very interesting.

As Mr. D was finishing his interview, the group crossed the street. Aster approached, hiding backstage and was surprised that Mr. D was in front of a live audience. The place was packed as the crowd cheered and clapped at the interview. Mr. D had not exponsed Aster to the camaras, and the boy was perfectly fine by it. Aster knew he was not 100 percent anonymous, he was sure some people may recognize him as cameras were quite present and followed Mr. D outside whenever he stepped out the street. He noticed some faces turn around, mostly looking at him with pity in their faces rather than surprise. The orphan kid whose dad was murdered...not the nicest way to be recognized. However, because of his "tragic story", Mr. D had requested reporters to not bother him with questions and surprisingly, they obeyed.

He noticed Jade standing behind him. He gestured her to approach and look at the live audience. Her face changed to an amused expression, her eyes darting trying to catch every detail of the studio. Aster wondered about the time when he would be invited to a talk show. He smiled to himself imagining Jade, Mr. D, Sartorius and Serena sitting in first row supporting him…

They saw Mr. D stand up from the leather couch and shake hands with the presenter. Instantly, the kids took a few steps back standing in the middle of the room. Both men continued a brief talk backstage, Aster caught Mr. D's eye who gestured him to come forward. He introduced him to the presenter who kneeled and shook his hand.

"So you are a duelist too, huh?" the presenter asked.

"Y-yes" the boy answered. Mr. D patted his shoulder and brought him closer:

"And what a duelist he is! Remember this: in a few years, he will be quite the sensation!"

The presenter gifted Mr. D a bag, which Aster soon discovered it was a bottle of wine. They made their way towards the car and Mr. D asked the driver to leave them in the nearby park that was below Domino Bridge.

They sat near the river bank. More than a year ago, he had been sitting in the same spot with Jade and her mom. Looking over the river Aster remembered the commotion caused by a body of a woman, which Aster later found out to be of his mom. He only remembered her pale body and her dirty fingernails. It seemed a long time ago, to the point of being almost surreal.

All his previous life seemed to rest somewhere so far away...He turned towards D who was quietly looking at the same direction he was. He slowly allowed himself fall into the grass staring at the sky. There, Aster noticed the dark circles under D's black eyes, a few grey hairs showing through his raven hair. The boy noticed he looked tired.

"Let's go to the river bank!" Jade suggested Aster. "Let's skip stones!" The kid turned towards his tutor who patted his arm:

"It's okay, but don't wander off!"

Jade began running fast, he barely had time to call Sartorius who came running after them. It had rained quite recently, the smell of wet dirt and the river slightly overflown. Jade grabbed a small rock and threw it towards the river: it skipped twice and sunk. Sartorius tried it, however his stone simply sunk after throwing it. Jade laughed, and continued throwing stones. As she kept throwing, without keeping her eyes off the stones skipping she said:

"It's a little creepy isn't it?" Aster knew exactly what she meant.

"Things have changed a lot, haven't they?"

Sartorius sat in one of the rocks also starting at the body of water that was in front of them. Aster grabbed one of the stones, he threw it with Jade and it skipped three times until sinking.

"Yes, but change doesn't always mean bad, doesn't it?" Aster wondered. He turned towards Sartorius who was quietly hearing the conversation.

"What do you think?" the boy asked him.

The older boy was about to answer when Jade interrupted him:

"That doesn't mean I like it".

Sartorius finally spoke:

"It's part of growing up, weather we like it or not. There is nothing left but to accept it."

If looks could kill Aster wondered...Jade turned towards the fortune teller, the boy was almost sure that, if she could, she would have developed lazer eyes to evaporate the violet haired boy from the planet.

"Yeah, I heard that before" she spat. "Actually...I think, _you _told me that in Kaibaland"

She threw another stone towards the river with such force it fell with a plop sinking fast in the water.

"You seem a little...angry" Sartorius commented.

_Oh no_, Aster thought. The girl's cheek grew red and clenched her fists.

"Well, I am a little tired of playing nice" she answered. Aster noticed she had turned on her duel disk. Usually the kid was the first one to enjoy watching a duel but for the first time, he wished it didn't happen.

"Okay" Sartorius answered calmly as he stood up and faced the girl.

"Allow me to beguin" Sartorius answered, his expression non-changing. He activated a magic card: Cup of Ace.

"If I may, I predict it will be facing upwards." The golden cup once on the filled began turning in front of Sartorius and just as predicted, it was upwards. "This means I can draw to cards".

Next, he summoned Arcana Force III: The Empress (ATK 1300/DEF 1300). "You are being quite stubborn, and because of your blind hatred you are giving me the advantage" he declared, the card facing upwards:

_Each time your opponent Normal Summons or Sets a monster, you can Special Summon 1 "Arcana Force" monster from your hand._

"My turn!" Jade declared as she looked at the card she drew from her deck.

"First, I activate my spell card: Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen" The ground began to shake changing to a stone white hall with large columns engraved in vines and a red carpet. "Using it's effect I summon, Guardian Angel Joan! (ATK 2800/DEF 2000)" A bright light briefly blinded Aster. When he opened his eyes, there she was, one of his dad's last creations shining in all its glory. The boy felt butterflies in his stomach. He remembered thinking so hard about the card's design and its effect. She declared an attack on Sartorius monster making him lose 1500 life points. Activating Guardian Angel Joan, Jade had an increase of Life Points of 1300 points, the original attack of Arcana Force III: The Empress, leaving her with 5300 life points while Sartorius remained with 2500.

Jade triumphantly ended her turn.

"Very well" Sartorius grabbed one of his cards, "I understand this card is very important to you". Jade did not flinch.

"First, I activate my spell card Light Barrier! And with this, fate is on my side as I can choose any Arcana effect cards" he made a pause, "I place this card face down". Sartorius did as so. Finally, the fortune teller summoned Queen's Knight (ATK 1500/DEF 1600) in defense position.

"You are a coward!" Jade answered as she drew her card. As Jade was about to begin her Standby Phase, Sartorius revealed his trap card: Tour of Doom. As the coin tossed revealed Heads, Sartorius smiled pleased:

"Fate is still on my side".

"Ugh! Whatever" Jade answered angrily. Because of the trap effect, she was not allowed to normal summon, and as she had Guardian Angel Joan on the field, she could not use Valhalla's efect. Jade choose to attack with Guardian Angel Joan, Aster noticed she had not placed any trap or magic spell card. Sartorius did not suffered any damage.

Sartorius activated his spell card, Selection of Fate. Sartorius only had two cards in his hand.

"Now, Jade: I will allow you to pick the next card for me...Choose carefully, as it may be the card that seals your fate."

The girl rolled her eyes. Once he made her choice, Sartorius asked again:

"Is this your final choice?"

Aster could see Jade was becoming frustrated, she was not interested in conversation.

"I warned you, you brought this to yourself because you refuse to accept change". Arcana Force VIII The Strength (ATK 1800/DEF 1800). Using Light Barriers effect, Sartorius predicted Heads, activating the cards Upside effect Take control of 1 monster your opponent controls. Aster could see the color in Jade's cheeks was completely drained of color.

Guardian Angel Joan was now on Sartorius side of the field, and Jade was completely exposed, without any trap or magic cards. Her field was open to any attack. First, Sartorius attacked with Guardian Angel Joan. Jade winced in pain as her Life counter dropped to 2500 points. Sartorius attacked once more with Arcana Force VIII, and Jade was only left with 700 points. The fortune teller still had 2500 points.

As Jade drew, Sartorius once again activated his continuous trap card: Tower of Doom. Aster could see Jade was frantically scanning her hand with her green eyes.

"I place one cards face down!" She activated her spell card, Dian Keto The Cure Master and had an increase of 1000 life points, she drew three cards but discarded two of them. Aster could see she was becoming agitated.

"Using Valhalla's effect, I special summon Athena (ATK 2600/DEF 800), and I declare an attack on Arcana Force VIII The Strength!". Sartorius life points were reduced and he was left with 1700 points, as well as Jade. Guardian Angel Joan returned to Jade's side of the field. Sartorius drew and activated his spell card Reverse Reborn, summoning once again Arcana Force VIII The Strength. He repeated the same strategy as before, once again taking control over Guardian Angel Joan.

"As you see, Jade I only have one card left in my hand...which was the second card you could have chosen with Selection of Fate". Sartorius sacrificed Guardian Angel Joan and The Strength to summon Arcana Force XXI The World (ATK 3100/DEF 3100). Using Light Barrier he activated The World's upside effect:by sending two monsters you control to the Graveyard, you skip your opponent's turn. Jade was left with 1200 points, Sartorius remained with 1700. Once again, he activated Tower of Doom and Jade could not normal summon.

Jade bit her lip. She placed two cards face down, ending her turn.

Sartorius drew one card. He summoned, Arcana Force III, The Empress (ATK 1300/DEF 1300), once again using the card's upside effect.

"At the beginning Jade, I warned you….You were being stubborn" Sartorius warned her. Aster noticed Jade become more and more agitated, as if an animal who had been trapped in a cage. Sartorius attacked Athena with the World, making her loose 500 life points. The girl remained with 700, he attacked again with The Empress ending the duel.

Jade fell to her knees. Aster fell completely silent, he approached the girl who noticed had began forming tears in her eyes. But Jade pushed him away:

"Stay away!" and run.

Sartorius approached:

"I didn't mean to upset her, Aster. Perhaps she would like to be alone an-"

"Are you kidding?" Aster jumped. "No way!", and rushed to chase her. He was happy Sartorius had not followed him. Afterall, it was his fault. He should have told Jade sooner, he should have listened to her more. He should have...The clock was ticking, as he was leaving in two days. He rushed past Mr. D, who probably had seen Jade run away and assumed Aster was following her. Once again, he was thankful D had not chased them.

He could see Jade's black hair as she run through the street. Aster skipped and dodged the people walking by, he heard some complaining for his rudeness. Aster almost caught Jade at an intersection but as he was almost brushing her hair with his fingertips, Jade began running again. The street light turned red. He had to do it. Aster run, making cars stop abruptly, a white car even stopping only a few centimeters from his face.

"Hey kid!" he heard the driver screaming. But he kept on running. He could see her, Jade had turned the corner, he increased his speed. He was a few steps behind her.

"Jade! Jade stop!"

She stopped abruptly as a street light in front of her turned red, making Aster bump into her.

He held her wrist.

"Please…" he said out of breath "...stop...running". He took a deep breath. Jade said nothing. She was about to cross anyways with the red light, as in slow motion Aster saw a black Mercedes driving full speed almost crushing Jade's leg. Aster instantly pulled her back to the sideway, avoiding an accident.

"Jade…" he said again "...Why don't we...have a seat? You almost got yourself injured!".

She frowned, but complied. Aster holding her wrist to make sure she would not run away again. They sat together on the bench, Jade refused to meet his gaze.

"Why did you run?"

"Because you were chasing me" she answered frustrated. _Okey,_ Aster thought to himself, _it's going to be like this I guess…_

"What was the deal with the duel with Sartorius? I mean...I didn't even noticed you had your duel disk."

"I wanted to teach Sartorius a lesson...but I-."

"What lesson?"Aster pressed on the matter.

"That I'm…" a Jade's cheeks become slightly pink "That I am worthy of being your best friend."

Aster snapped.

"What are you talking about, Jade?"

"I…" she held her hands towards her lap caressing "I...I know you are quite drawn towards Sartorius. Ever since he showed up you mostly spoke about him"

"And...I can't blame you. He is a fortune teller, his deck is quite unique and he even can see the future!"

"And I...well, I'm just a girl. I'm an average duelist, I don't have any special abilities...I do not have chances of going Pro as you, or _Mr. D_…"

"Sartorius is your best friend, and I get it I guess, he is quite a cool best friend to have!" she said rolling her eyes. She blinked rapidly.

"And now, you are going to the other side of the world, and I'll just be... _here_" she sighed.

"Jade, you are my best friend"

"And so is Sartorius!" she replied angrily.

"So? I can have more than one best friend! You hang out with other girls and I don't get jealous...I understand sometimes you want to talk with them about things perhaps you are not interested in talking to me…"

Aster approached her, trying to meet her gaze.

"I'm not sure what will happen in two days, Jade...And honestly, I do not wish to ask Sartorius about it!"

She glanced back at him with interest.

"I told you, Jade. The only reason I have to stay in Domino is you...and if perhaps it was simply to try my luck without Pegasus' sponsorship I would refuse to go."

Aster chuckled.

"You know, Dad sometimes used to talk about people he met in High School...and he had no idea what they were up too! But he always talked about fond memories he had with them, and how important they were for him." the boy made a pause. "And I always wondered, 'well, why aren't still around?' Why didn't Dad bothered talk with them? And Dad, that it simply was difficult"

Jade looked at him puzzled.

"He said, that with daily life it was quite difficult to meet them, he even said that he was not sure where some of his High School friends ended up! But he told me, '_no matter what, I'll always remember them with joy_'...And to him, that was all it mattered."

Aster make a pause, it was as if something inside of him cracked open.

"And I guess…that's how I'll remember you, your parents, Domino...and" he made a pause, his voice slightly cracking "Dad..._with joy"_ he gave Jade a reassuring smile. But Aster could not stop:

"Sometimes...people leave us, and we meet knew people who reminds us of people we have met. Or other times...we simply cannot replace certain people, and we have to get used to the hole they leave in our hearts…" he made a pause. The past month had been a test of him to move forward. He was not sure if the hole of his father's absence would ever recover, he had accepted it would probably won't happen. But he tried to do everything is father would have wanted him to do, and imagine his father would be walking by his side every step he took.

"I think, part of growing up is allowing people to go, sometimes they don't return...but if they do, I think it's important for them to leave the door open." He turned towards Jade who was looking at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"The doors for you will always be open, weather we meet in two years or in thirty years. No matter how famous I may become, I'll never forget who was my first best friend" he placed his hand on top of hers.

Jade opened her mouth, but she did not said anything. Instead, she hugged Aster and whispered:

"I love you"

As Aster was about to answer, he saw Mr. D and Sartorius who run towards them.

"Jade!" Mr. D cried "You scared me, I told you kids not to wander off!"

Jade let go and without looking at her feet she said quietly to Sartorius:

"I understand that Aster can have more than one best friend…"

Aster smiled to himself, the only thing he wanted more in the world was for both Jade and Sartorius get along. The best of both worlds, the two people who represented different stages in his life: his life before and after his father's death.

"Could Jade stay over tonight?" Aster asked D with pleading eyes.

"Don't give me the puppy look" Mr. D jokingly looked away.

"Of course she can!"

Ideally, both kids would have stayed up until sunrise. However, the duel with Sartorius made Jade quite exausted, and at 12 while watching a movie, she had quietly fallen asleep. The boy gave her a little shake:

"Hey, we were supposed to stay until the next day!"

"Huh?" Jade answered in a sleepy tone. She closed her eyes again and instead of resting her head in Aster shoulder she turned around to face the opposite direction.

Aster yawned. The movie was becoming boring. He looked around, the room was completely dark and silent, except for Jade's breathing. He covered her with one of the blankets in her room and brought his sleeping bag, placing it next to the large sofa.

As he began falling asleep, he saw it: a white light comming from the window.

* * *

**Hey people! Probs the last update of 2019! **

**And if anybody was wondering: No, I had not forgotten about The Light of Destruction which was brought up in previous chapters. **

**Happy new year everybody! See you again in 2020 :)**


	16. Chapter 16

Aster opened his eyes and turned towards the girl. She had not noticed anything and was in a deep sleep. He looked back at the window, perhaps, it was simply a reflection of a car passing by, just in case, he choose to sleep facing the other direction. That night, he slept quite uneasy. He could not remember when was the last time it had happened, but it seemed a long time ago. He saw his dad in his office being hit by a large object, however who hit him, was not visible, instead a silhouette of a man surrounded by a white aura. The scene changed to the boy stepping inside the plane that would take him to the United States and realizing the white mist had completely covered it.

He opened his eyes, and noticed Jade's green eyes staring at him, her face, a few centimeters from his.

"You began to move so much, I thought you were having an epilepsy attack!"

"Wha-What?" the boy asked out of breath.

"Where you having a nightmare?" she asked concerned.

"I...I..." Her intense gaze made him a little uncomfortable.

"It's nothing."

The girl did not seemed convinced but dropped the topic. She turned around and continued sleeping in the sofa. Aster looked at the ceiling. Last time, he was convinced he had gotten rid of what he had learnt was The Light of Destruction. He remembered when he smashed his mother's ring, which surprisingly his father never asked about again. He was not entirely sure why the Light of Destruction was targeting him specially, or if his dad ever noticed it... he was not sure what exactly was The Light of Destruction. Was it a person? A spirit? An abstract concept?

The house was completely silent and dark. In another times he would have rushed to his father's bedroom. He took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. He was not sure what he saw, perhaps...it was nothing. Yes, nothing, focusing in the ticking clock he fell asleep.

The airport looked bigger than Aster would have imagined. The constant flow of people coming and going, couples and friends reuniting after spending who knew how much appart. He looked at the board. His flight to JFK Airport from Domino International Airport was scheduled for 10 p.m. D returned and handed Aster, Sartorius and Serena their boarding passes. He talked with the flight assistant about his upcoming flight to return from JFK to Domino and choose to reserve it.

Aster held his small purple carry on in which he had placed his duel disk and his deck, he would not take any chances in losing either of those things. He turned towards Jade who was reading the different flights.

"You've ever went in a plane before?"

"Yes" she answered "I've been to Italy with my parents."

"Oh".

He scanned looking for the flights from Domino to Rome. He counted two, one of them which, at the moment, was boarding.

"All right!" Mr. D chimned in "My flight to return has been scheduled and I was able to buy it with a discount!" he looked at Aster.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to return? I'll try to fly every month or so."

"Yes, yes" Aster answered without much thought. The boy bit his lip; honestly, he would have prefered Mr. D staying with him longer, at least until he was fully settled in.

"All right!" Mr. D clapped his hands. "I think it's time we get going!"

Aster turned once more towards Jade, Miles and Ruth. He hugged the three of them at once, while Miles patted his head and wished him good luck.

"You'll always know where to find us Aster!" Ruth said looking into his eyes. Her green eyes, just like Jade shone with much kindness. Aster doubt he would find people as generous as the Trembleys had been. All those times Miles had agreed to keep an eye on Aster when his dad was busy, how the family greeted him with open arms, and without any judgment or rush for him to leave after his dad's funeral. His only link to Domino City and is life before his father's death, now in seconds of separating for who knew how long. He looked at Jade who in her hands had a piece of paper and handed it to Aster.

"I don't know if will meet again but..." she said. The boy looked at it: it was a photo of them smiling in front of one of the rollercoasters at Kaibaland. He turned it around, scribbled in a shiny pink pen it was written:

Kaibaland. October, 1996.

Remember me with joy.

Jade T.

"Jade…" he hugged her "Thank you!"

He held the picture in one hand and his carry on in the other. From the corner of his eye he saw D standing next to him.

"Ready?"

"Ready".

Aster stepped inside without looking back.

He sat by the window seat next to D who instructed him to put on his seatbelt. He placed both of his hands by the seats side and stared at the front looking at the passengers walking across the hallway, glancing at their boarding passes and checking the seats. He saw Sartorius' hand peeking from behind his sit.

"Comfortable? It's going to be long…" He threw a small book in his lap. "Just in case you get bored, I found it at the bookshop today."

Mr. D, who had not buckled his seat belt, turned around to check on the brother and sister.

"How are you doing, Serena?" he asked her.

"Good...good".

"First time flying, as well?"

"Yes" Aster heard Serena answer from the sit behind him.

"It's going to be fine...accidents in planes have a small chance of occuring" Mr. D assured the three of them. The boy gulped. He remembered his recent dream of the plane being completely covered by a white mist.

"No accidents will occur, I guarantee that" Sartorius answered as if he had read Aster's mind.

"Good night passengers and welcome to flight 2936 to JFK Airport in New York City, with stop in Los Angeles. This is your Captain speaking and I inform you we are about to begin our flight, please fasten your seatbelts."

Aster held his breath, he glanced at D who followed the capitan's instructions. The plane began to move in high speed until it began to ascend in the sky, the night sky completely surrounding the plane. Aster wondered if that's what felt being inside a rocketship, except, with gravity. Back at Domino, he had heard about Kaiba Corp's contest of a lucky child who would have their cards launched into a rocket. Aster found it quite...uncessesary...His thoughts of space and duel monsters was interrupted by D.

"Now, it's time we relax" Mr. D slightly pushed his seat's backrest and closed his eyes. Aster was left wondering how he had managed to fall asleep so fast. He followed with his gaze a blonde stewardess who approached with her food trolley.

"By your face I can notice it's your first time flying…" she commented. Aster was about to ask how she could tell but she served him orange juice in a small plastic cup. The boy placed the cup in his small table and glanced over at the book which Sartorius had dropped to his lap before: an american comic book. He doubt Sartorius would read something like that...he shrugged and began reading; as Sartorius had predicted: it would be quite a long flight.-

D had only woken up when the stewardess served dinner. After a while, the lights of the hallway were turned off, the flight attendants handled each passenger a blanket and a small pillow. Aster took a look at his seat. It was very uncomfortable, how anyone expected him to sleep on that? He followed D, steps: slightly pushing back his seat, covering himself with the blanket and trying to fall asleep...while sitting. He changed positions resting the pillow between his shoulder and his head against the window, still uncomfortable. He sighed, and gazed at the window.

He wondered how much time it had passed since he departed. It felt like forever, he tried to glance down, but of course, he couldn't see anything. How far were they? He turned around. Both, Sartorius and Serena had their eyes closed. He felt everyone around him was sleeping instead of him, which made him rather anxious.

He turned again towards the window. What was Jade doing at that moment? He imagined her sleeping in her pink room and her many pillows. He thought of Miles having a small cup of tea after dinner, like he always did; while Ruth was already in bed reading one of her books. It was a comfortable thought, enough to put him to sleep.

Aster watched from the taxi window the high rise buildings. Sartorius pointed at a an art museum and commented how he would definitely go there. Next to Sartorius, Serena had fallen asleep, while Mr. D chatted with the taxi driver. The radio was softly playing, but the boy was not paying much attention to it. The city looked very crowded. Suddenly, the car stopped in front of a white building with glass doors, it looked like a hotel, but Aster was surprised to find it was an apartment complex.

However, the penthouse was rather large, each person had their own room, and the whole house connecting to the main room, a large living room with a balcony. Yet, Aster found it rather plain, compared to how luxurious the entrance looked. It had very few furniture, and had white walls.

Mr. D approached the shelfs and began looking at the walls. He commented to Aster that by the first week, they would make it feel like home.

"There's a photograph I like, of workers sitting on a grinder, I think it was taken here! It would look very good on the living room". He told the kids that each could chose their room, and decorate it as they wished.

Aster noticed a small video player resting on the wooden coffee table. While they all went to pick their rooms the boy decided to play it.

Maximillion Pegasus appeared on the screen sitting in his office.

"Aster-boy!" The video greeted him.

"If you are watching this, it means you have arrived to your new apartment. I hope you enjoyed your flight"

Mr. D sat next to Aster and watched the video.

Pegasus continued.

"I left some information in the living room drawer: maps, contact list in case of emergency and the leasing on the apartment…" Pegasus shook his head.

"That is not relevant for you, but if Mr. D wished to look at it…"

"Back on the important stuff: tomorrow you'll meet Edie Wilde at 10.00 at the Industrial Illusions arena. Get ready, and don't forget to sleep!"

The video ended.

Aster turned to Mr. D.

"Eddie Wilde? That guy we saw on the tv that time?"

The man nodded.

Aster had the smallest room, although he liked it that way. He rested on the bed looking at the ceiling, his luggage laid unopened and he had placed the picture Jade had given him by his nightstand. The room felt strange, unfamiliar but he felt excited. He imagined how the Arena would look like, Eddie Wilde´s voice, what he would tell him. He had only seen him once on a TV screen. Was he tall? Why had he abandoned Dueling so suddenly, when he was at the top of his game? Yet, he had agreed to train Aster. Before he was able to order his thoughts, he had fallen asleep.

* * *

_**Guys, I'm back! So sorry for the long pause, and the short chapter. I came the US to work for an intership. With work, doing activieties with other interns, while at the same time dealing with lots of anxiety about moving abroad, breaking up with my boyfriend...And now, the Coronavirus! **_

_**Thankfully, I was able to return to my home country and manage an arragement were I can still work from home. **_

_**Stay safe everybody and respect the quarentine, **_

_**Love, **_

_**Agos :) **_


	17. Chapter 17

Eddie Wilde had short brown hair combed back with gel. He was wearing a tight navy blue turtleneck sweater with dark pants. His sweater accentuated his very skinny frame. Aster`s hand was sweating as he shook Eddie`s. He walked behind him, almost stepping on his toes to catch up as the man showed him around the Industrial Illusions Arena, which looked very similar to the one back at Domino.

"Maximillion Pegasus told me a lot about you and your Destiny Hero deck" Eddie said as he turned on his duel disk.

Mr. D had briefly told him about his strategy in previous tournaments over breakfast.

"He is not afraid to lose life points just to frustrate his enemy's strategies. That's what made his matches so interesting: he would win with a 100 life points or even less: his record was winning with just 1 life point left."

With that in mind, Aster opened the duel. The boy began by activating his spell card, D-Spirit, which allowed him to summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude in attack position (ATK 1400/DEF 1600). He then summoned Destiny Hero Doom Lord in attack position (ATK 600/DEF 800), and placed a card face down.

Eddie calmy placed Warrior Lady of the Wasteland in attack position (ATK 1100/DEF 1200), and placed a card face down.

In Aster`s turn, he choose to attack Warrior Lady of the Wasteland with Diamond Dude, making Eddie lose 300 life points; plus a direct attack with Doom Lord. Eddie`s life points were reduced to 2900 life points. Using Lady Warrior`s effect, he was able to summon another Earth type monster in attack position, choosing Dream Clown (ATK 1200/DEF 900). He activated his spell card, Pot of Greed, and drew to cards from his deck. Followed by this, he activated Dream Clown`s effect by changing it to Defense Position:

_When this card is changed from Attack Position to Defense Position, destroy 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field._

With this effect, Diamond Dude was destroyed. He placed another card face down, and summoned, UFO Turtle (ATK 1400/DEF 1200), and declared an attack on Doom. Eddie remained with 2900, while Aster had 3200 life points.

"Better watch your back" Eddie warned him as it was Aster`s turn. He had to be careful, his field was completely empty, while Eddie had two monsters, and two cards face down. On the other hand, he noticed his monsters were not very powerful, one single strike, and and he would win the duel. What was the cost of leaving Aster empty handed? Eddie had lost too many life points. He clenched his cards, he had to win.

He summoned Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400). As Aster was ready to attack, Eddie activated his trap card, Curse of Anubis and Celestial was changed to Defense Position (ATK 1600/DEF 0), as well as Eddie`s two monsters, which both had their defenses reduced to 0. Aster redunctly placed a card face down and ended his turn. That was just a lucky shot, he thought.

In Eddie's turn, he activated Black Pendant, he changed UFO Turtle to attack position and equipped it with the spell card (ATK 1900/DEF 0). He choose to leave Dream Clown in defense position. He attacked Aster's monster, but because Celestial was in defense, Aster suffered no damage. With Eddie's attack Aster`s trap card, Destiny Signal was activated. He summoned Drilldark from his deck (ATK 1600/DEF 1200). Aster drew Pot of Greed, which allowed him to draw to more cards.

"Well, looks like I got what I need!" he declared and activated Polymerization, which was stopped by Eddie´s Solemn Judgement. Eddie, reduced his life points in half, remaining with 1450 points. Even though he had managed to attack him twice, Eddie felt untouchable. He he felt trapped, as if no matter what he did, Eddie would drag the duel until Aster had no cards left. He placed, Vision Hero Vyon (ATK 1000/DEF 1200) in defense, and placed two cards face down.

First, Eddie activated his magic card, Soul Release, and he choose to banish five of Aster`s Destiny Heroes from his cemetery. The boy cursed internally, his trap card Destiny Mirage had become useless. He wondered if Eddie had mind reading powers…

"One should always watch their back, Aster. That is very good!" he congratulated him.

Aster already knew that. Was Pegasus paying a man thousands of dollars to tell him something so obvious?

Once again, Eddie choose to sacrifice 800 life points to activate Mind Control, and Vision Hero Vyon was in Eddie`s side of the field. Eddie had 450 life points left.

"You see Aster, the Golden Rule of Pro Dueling is..." The lights of the arena were turned dark, only the light of both duel discs slightly illuminated the arena with their blue light. Aster clenched his cards close to his face, he could barely figure out their attack and defense points. A pause, it probably lasted for ten seconds, but Aster couldn't help but hold his breath. From Eddie's duel disk emerged a white light, he saw it shoot up to the sky, and very slowly, transform itself into a monster...Angel 07 (ATK 2500/DEF 1500) was summoned to the field. The lights were turned on again, suddenly, he noticed that spectators were sitting on the Arena. The spectators were roaring, laughing and clapping, it was like nothing Aster had seen before; the Arena was packed, not a single corner was empty. Eddie spoke again:

"_It's show biz, kiddo_!" Because Eddie had sacrificed Black Pendant, Aster received 500, points of damage to his life points, plus the attack by Angel 07, Aster was only left with 200 life points.

Aster sat on his knees, in a single turn, Eddie had completely changed the outcome of the duel. If only he had Plasma, things would be much simpler…The sound of the crowd was too much for him. He covered his ears, they did not allowed him to think clearly, they sounded like hungry leeches wanting more; never satisfied. It hit him. The whole world would be watching him, watching his every single move, like a wacky animal trapped in a zoo...it made him feel hopeless. Why had he left Domino all the way to New York? He looked at Eddie who had crossed over the field and bent next to him. The holographic crowd was gone, the Arena turned back to normal, he noticed Angel 07 was still summoned on the field.

"Hey kid, what happened? You don't need to feel overwhelmed, the crowd was just a hologram!"

"I...I don't want to duel for other people."

Eddie laid on the floor and encouraged Aster to do the same. The arena had an open ceiling, and they could see the blue sky.

"Who says you have to?" Aster said nothing, and Eddie spoke again.

"You've already been to competitions, right?"

"It was silly, it was a game!"

"What's different than that time and this time?"

Aster tried to concentrate on the shape of the clouds. He couldn't exactly figure anything...they looked like, well, clouds. He was sure that if Jade was next to him he would see something. But he was also certain that his father would see something; yes he definitely would...

"I heard what happened to your father, you must be very strong to get through something like that."

Aster really wondered if Eddie was a mind reader, perhaps, it was just that he was very easy to read.

"I still have both of mine alive, I really cannot imagine such pain. I don't need to say how sorry I am, or tip toe around the subject, I think you already know its -pardon my language- _shit_. "

Aster knew it was. Nobody in these months had placed it so simply. Miles had been rather contained, always watching what he spoke about his father and his passings, D considered the best was to move forward and not think about it, and here Eddie, had found the world Aster had been looking for in months.

"I never trained someone so young, Pegasus really must have seen something in you. I'm really interested to see where life will take you."

Aster turned to face him, Eddie was looking at the clouds.

"You mean like _my destiny_?"

"You can call it that if you like"

The boy spoke suddenly:

"I want to continue"

From the corner of his eye he noticed Eddie smile, who rushed to his side of the Arena. If Eddie wanted a show, Aster would provide him with one.

Aster placed Destiny Hero Defender in defense (ATK 100/DEF 2700), placed a card face down, and activated Clock Tower Prison. Eddie smiled satisfied.

"Ah, I see, trying to buy some time…".

Aster finished his turn, and in the beginning of Eddie's standby phase, he grabbed another card while the arrow the Clock Tower moved. Aster activated his trap card: Destruction of Destiny. Eddie looked at him intrigued.

"With this card, I'll send the top three cards from my deck to the Graveyard, yet, if one of those is a spell or trap card, I'll lose the duel."

"Seems we have ourselves a gambler!"

"I'm quite confident on what destiny has in store for me"

Aster held his breath as he sent the three cards to the graveyard...and, nothing happened.

"Seems to be your lucky day, kiddo". Eddie simply placed a card facedown and ended his turn, he chose not to attack. Aster activated his magic card, Destiny Draw, discarding Destiny Hero -Dasher to his Graveyard, which Aster showed it to his opponent.

"I hope you remember this card, it will become quite handy next turn".

He summoned Destiny Hero, Dread Servant, the arrow of the clock was moved once again, 30 minutes till midnight. He placed one card face down and ended his turn.

The arrow of the clock moved once again.

"Well, I won't be that stupid to attack one of your monsters...I see you have quite a few cards facedown. Are you preparing for different scenarios?" In Eddie's turn, Aster activated his trap card D-Counter. The clock strike midnight.

Eddie summoned, Spell Caster (ATK 600/DEF 200) by banishing his spell card, Soul Release from his graveyard. As Spell Caster was ready to attack, Aster activated D-Fortune, banishing Drilldark from his Graveyard and ending the battle phase.

"A lucky shot" Eddie said.

The bells of the towel kept ringing and the mist from the field spell barely allowed Aster to see his opponent.

"I see you are not risking Angel 07" Aster commented.

"Well, I would like to meet Dreadmaster". Aster drew a card, Destiny Hero Decider.

"If you remember, Dasher is resting in my Graveyard" Aster explained "It has quite a neat effect...If I draw a monster card and reveal it, I can special summon it" He showed the card to Eddie. "But that's not all, I can still summon one more monster, and I summon D-Cubed!".

"I see you are bringing in the big guys..." Eddie said as Aster sacrificed his three monsters and summoned Destiny Hero Dogma (ATK 3400/DEF 2400).

"Dreadmaster doesn't want to do things alone, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring a friend" Aster declared.

"And now who are you summoning Aster?" Eddie asked.

Aster banished Tower Prison and changed his field spell for Dark City. A large roar was heard emerging from the towel, as it broke, freeing Destiny Hero Dreadmaster. The ground shook as the monster placed himself in front of Aster and next to Dogma.

"Two very powerful monsters in one turn…That would definitely increase ratings."

"You cannot attack with both monsters Aster...you pulled a very good show"

Aster special summoned from his graveyard Drilldark (ATK 1600/ DEF 1200) and Fearmonger (ATK 1000/DEF 1000). Dreadmaster had an increase of 6000 points. He attacked Angel 07 with Dreadmaster, and Eddie's life points were reduced to 0.

A large plate of fries was placed in front of Eddie. Aster considered that it was a plate big enough for two people, yet he was surprised to see it was only for one person. Followed by this, a waiter placed a cheeseburger in front of the man who began eating. Aster simply choose a caprese sandwich.

"So, this deck was designed by your father, is that correct?"

Aster took a bite of the enormous sandwich and nodded. Eddie laid back thoughtful and mouthed "wow".

"And how long have you been using it?"

"Almost a year."

"It really seems to be a deck made just for you...A costume-made deck is probably the best gift a duelist can receive."

Eddie was very talkative, constantly changing the subject, which made Aster lost at times during their conversation. He asked about his school, then changed to Pegasus, then back to his hobbies, then about his father, then about his new home, to finally recommend him places around New York City.

"Well, you know, a duelist has to be very...cultured." Aster said nothing, he had eaten half of the sandwich, he nodded, paying attention to the cheese that was falling on the plate.

"We cannot forget your education...So, you'll be homeschooled."

Aster almost choked. Eddie handed him a piece of paper, it was a time table with all his schedules. He began his dueling training at 7.00 am up until lunch where he had one hour break. Then, until five, his dueling training was divided in half: practice, and theory of dueling. Finally, from 5pm till 8.30pm he had _classes. _He groaned looking at the subjects: math, history, grammar, art, physics, PE and..._french_?

"Why should I learn _french_?" Aster looked puzzled.

"Well, it's more to learn more about different cultures. You see, a Pro Duelist is a man of the world. He has to know about other countries, and the best way to do so is by learning another language."

"I don't see the point." Aster protested.

"Well, Pegasus looked over your grades, he noticed you are quite advanced, he doesn't want your education to go to waste…"

He felt creeped out by Pegasus looking at his grades, how did he find them? Did he looked at something else? Did Aster perhaps had an illness Pegasus knew but he didn't? The boy left the paper on the table.

"I always found school boring" he whispered.

"I imagine, that's why this are high school level classes...a bit more challenging, and a bit more _fun _I assume." he smiled.

Aster studied Eddie's face. He looked young, not more than thirty years old. His clean shaved face show no wrinkles. Sometimes he would look at D, and notice a certain melancholy and tiredness. D would usually arrive home rather late and fall asleep on the couch. Even at dinner, he noticed D tried his maximum effort to be talkative and interact with Aster, yet sometimes he would repeat himself or forget things Aster had told him.

"Perhaps, if you study hard enough you may be able to graduate from High School in a year...if you are as smart as Pegasus told me you are" Eddie said innocently.

Aster knew Eddie was placing him a challenge. If Pegasus expected him to graduate high school in a year, he would do it in less.

"Fine" Aster agreed.

"I'm glad you are exited...you'll begin tomorrow!"

Aster noticed Mr.D suddenly waking up and changing the channel as Aster closed the door behind him. The man quickly turned on the lamp and Aster sat next to him staring at the TV. From what the boy gathered D was watching a comedy film about a cop.

"How was your day Aster?"

"Great! I beat Eddie and his Angel 07!"

D turned to face him intrigued.

"Oh that's interesting. His ace monster usually Cyber Orge 2...What else did he had?"

Aster began explained the duel, while D looked puzzled, who laid back in the sofa.

"Maybe he changed his deck, but it really doesn't ring a bell...Maybe he did it just to challenge you?"

Aster become angry. All the effort it took to beat him, and Eddie did not even bother to use his real deck? He would definitely demand answers the following day. D signaled Aster's room:

"I bought some stuff to your room...also, you got a letter".

The boy rushed to his room. The luggage laid full of clothes and open, Aster knew this was a permanent situation, Eddie had already talked about at least a year. His life in New York was starting whether he liked it or not. As soon as he would finish cleaning his room he would look at the letter; first, he had to make it feel like home...because it was. There was no turning back. As he went through his clothes he wondered who could have written him. Pegasus? He doubt it would be fanmail…

Curiosity got the best of him, and after placing in his closet half of the contents of his luggage, he had to look over the desk. A simple white envelope with a stamp from Domino City and addressed to him by…

Jade!

Aster ripped open the envelope exited. The enveloped had a written letter folded in four and a postcard from Kaiba Dome.

_Aster: _

_I heard D telling dad about where you are staying and I wrote it down (no I wasn't spying!). I'm not sure when this will get you, hopefully it arrives before you do! How is New York? What is your favourite-_

Aster was interrupted by Sartorius who was standing by his door. He gestured him to come in and left the letter aside. The boy had a grim expression on his face. They both sat on the floor, Sartorius placed his tarot cards between them.

"Hey, what's the matter? You don't like New York?"

The card reader shook his head, he did not seem in the mood for any type of joke. Sartorius began mixing his cards and flipped over one of them: The Tower, which was in reverse for Sartorius.

"Have you had trouble sleeping, Aster?"

Aster bit the inner side of his cheek. He had never told Sartorius about the white light he kept seeing, all over Domino. Yet...in New York he felt at peace. Whatever was trying to follow him had suddenly stopped. Sartorius continued:

"I…" Sartorius looked around the room, Aster noticed he kept opening and closing his mouth.

"For the past few weeks, I've began to _sense _that there might be _something_…"

Aster stared at him intensely, while he held his breath.

"Bad with me".

"What? Are you sick?"

Sartorius revealed flipped over another card: The Moon, in reverse facing Sartorius.

"Something dark is going to happen soon, Aster. And I fear I will be the one to cause it."

Sartorius eyes filled with tears.

"I will bring ruin, I've seen it...It is in my destiny." He looked at Aster, helpless.

"While we were in Domino, I once had a man approach me with a card...He wanted me to read his future. I could not see the card, I do not know which card it was...You see, the card was completely white, but I knew it was a Duel Monster Card…"

Aster remained silent.

"When I took the card in my hands…" Sartorius grabbed his head.

"I don't remember much, I can't even remember...I just...I saw the light...I saw it."

"And I thought it was nothing...I've had some intense card readings which leave me tired for days, you see...But I knew, this was something different. I guess...I thought I could avoid my destiny by meeting you…"

"But now, accepted it."

"Aster" he grabbed Aster by his shoulders.

"When the time comes, I want you to promise me, no matter how much I beg, no matter what I do...You'll stop me from becoming the Destroyer of Worlds."

Tears began running though Sartorius cheeks as well as Aster's.

"I promise you I will" Aster answered determined. His father had created the Destiny Heroes to protect him, but if he could be the hero to someone else he would.

"Dad did not had a hero to protect him when he died…I promise you Sartorius, I will train day and night, to protect you, to protect our world…"

Sartorius began calming down, he noticed a hint of hope in his violet eyes, and the boy returned to his quiet demeanor, and they walked towards the hallway. The smell of roasted vegetables coming through the kitchen...

Yes, he would answer Jade later.

* * *

_**Happy reading :) **_

_**Longer chapter for a change. **_

_**It took me a while to write off the duel...it has been a while, I really tried to challenge Aster. **_

_**Hope you enjoy my attempt! **_


	18. Chapter 18

The house felt stranger at night with the realization that this was an unknown apartment. While at Domino, he knew how many steps he had to take to reach the kitchen, where exactly were to turn, the width of the hallway, and how to find the switch for the light bulb. He stumbled his way towards the kitchen walking slowly, and pressing with his palm on the walls. From the corner of his eye he saw the T.V turned on, and a silhouette of a man talking on the phone. D had always been a night owl, he did not gave it much importance. As he stepped into the kitchen, he heard the sound of glass breaking. Aster hid by the kitchen counter watching Mr. D talking on his phone. Droplets of blood were falling from the fists of his hands. D was clenching his fists grabbing his hair frustrated, Aster was sure the man's knuckles were turning white.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

D slammed the coffee table. Aster wondered who was the person on the other line, and how the argument had escalated. The boy had never seen D so...violent. He heard the man's heavy footsteps circling around the coffee table. Scared as he was, he could not stop looking. Ever since he had known him, Aster had never been intimidated by D's large frame, yet for the first time, the thought that he barely knew who D was, crossed his mind. He had simply allowed to be adopted by him, perhaps out of desperation, or to regain a sense of normalcy in his life. D had told him bits of information about himself and his past...even when authorities were involved to allow the adoption process he was given a green light. He knew his large frame and dark eyes could be intimidating for some people, he had seen him get on his way in whatever he wanted. Despite his rough hands, Aster had always felt safe around him.

Aster noticed his hands were shaking, as he kept on hearing the conversation. By some words being tossed around, he imagined it would be some sort of business related to his career as a Pro…perhaps it was D's manager? Aster had never met the guy, yet he knew he had one. He told himself that he would never lash out on his own manager like that. He tried to look over the hallway, he was surprised neither Sartorius or Serena had been woken up by the noise.

"You are making a _big_ mistake!" he threatened.

D held his hand in the air as if he was choking somebody.

"You never saw things _my_ way...I thought you cared about the kid!" He closed his palm.

"I ain't scared to get my hands dirty".

Aster rushed back to his bedroom closing the door shut. Since when D had been like that? Perhaps, he was always like that? That violence he had shown...it was not something that appeared out of nowhere...The door was opened by the man who stepped into the room.

"Aster! What's the matter?" he looked much calmer, yet Aster took a step back.

D sighed and sat by the bed.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, kiddo"

"Who was it?" Aster asked wide eyed.

"Heh, business." D chuckled. Aster couldn't help but wince.

"Aster" D turned to him looking into his eyes "I would never hurt you". Aster had never felt so small. D's black eyes looked kind and even a bit hurt. Yet, Aster was still silent.

"I'm very sorry for scaring you. I just..." he sighed. "I just want your rise to the Pro Leagues be without any trouble...I guess some people don't believe in you...like _I do_."

Aster opened his eyes wide.

"So it was not your manager?"

D avoided the question:

"Don't worry about it"

The silence made Aster a bit uncomfortable, yet he had to ask the question that was in his mind.

"Are...are you going to hurt the person you were talking to?" fearful.

D chuckled.

"Of course not! What have you been eating?"

"I mean...you said…"

D patted his head.

"I promise you. Sleep tight kiddo, you have a busy day tomorrow"

D had left Aster cookies for the next morning. It was strange, as he did not usually did that. Instead, he had taught Aster how to use the utensils and learn it himself. He bit on the cookie with a slight sense of guilt. D had told him his trouble was related to _him_. He wondered if that incident could affect his career long term. Aster did not know many people, and he doubt D would have the guts to gain a bad reputation with Pegasus; with that anyone's career would be over... He glanced over the letter laying in the counter, D had been invited to the World Series that was taking place in Domino. He imagined watching D winning the Pro League at the Kaiba Stadium, him sitting in the first spot, the crow cheering, the lights... He knew D would be leaving soon.

Sartorius who waved at him as he opened the fridge and asked him if Aster shouldn't be already leaving for his training. The statement made the silver hair boy trip on his shoelaces as he tried to tie them.

"Don't break a tooth" Sartorius commented as he turned his spoon on his coffee cup. Embarrassed he climbed on the limo which was already waiting.

Turn on duel disk, draw, turn off duel disk, shuffle, turn on duel disk, draw, turn off duel disk, shuffle, turn on duel disk, draw, turn off duel disk, shuffle...Aster repeated the exercise mindlessly as Eddie kept talking.

"A deck and a duelist are one in the same..."

Aster was barely listening, his mind completely numb from repetition, staring with no interest in particular to the wall in front of him. He wondered what was so wonderful of drawing his cards over and over again. He felt Eddie's hands over his shoulders.

"No hunching" he commented as he straightened his back.

He then grabbed him by the back of the head.

"_Always_ look at your opponent"

Geez...what was wrong with this guy? The duel disk on his arm was feeling slightly heavy. Eddie continued with his speech. It seemed he had changed the subject but Aster barely paid attention.

"...in the past it was considered that a good duelist was someone who had strong cards, yet the nature of duel monsters is changing."

That's what Pegasus had mentioned, yet Aster was unsure what was "_the change_", he had seen duels and it all looked rather the same. He even wondered why he needed a year of training before being introduced to the public.

Eddie clapped his hands loudly which made Aster slightly jump. He instructed him for his next exercise which again, Aster was disappointed it was not an actual duel. Eddie emptied a cardboard box, duel monsters cards scattered all around Aster.

"I want you to organize this cards: first, separate monster cards, from trap and spell cards" Eddie gave no further instructions and Aster began looking around, to what probably looked like a thousand cards scattered on the floor. Ancient Brain, _monster_, he placed it behind him, World Suppression, _trap _on his left, Labyrinth Tank...well technically a fusion, he placed it behind him, Gift Of The Martyr, _spell_, on his right. Cards began piling up in his sides, yet, the work seemed to be endless. As he looked satisfied over the organized pile, he realized he still had hundreds to go. He glanced over, he was so immersed in his own thoughts that he did not notice Eddie was still in the room. He was sitting on a chair reading a book. He glanced over:

"You okay, kid?"

Aster nodded and continued organizing. By lunchtime, the boy still had not finished. Eddie walked over him.

"It's all right, I want you to take them home." He grabbed the ones which had been separated and placed them on three separate boxes, while the rest were piled in the cardboard box which they came from.

"Are all of this _your _cards?"

"Yes"

"Quick thinking is a key skill for a good duelist, Aster…"

Aster began revising his deck on his head, perhaps he could summon a fusion monster, or figure a way to bring Destiny Hero Dogma much faster; his strategies were interrupted by Eddie:

"I was thinking... perhaps we can both leave out our Pots of Greed…" He walked toward the box where Aster had placed the spell cards and randomly grabbed two. The boy gave him a serious look.

"You can place Pot of Greed in your pocket". He did as so and turned on his duel disk.

Eddie began the first turn, by activating his spell card Call of the Mummy, allowing him to summon Dark Assailant (ATK 1200/DEF 1200) on the field. Then, he activated his spell card Metamorphosis, by discarding his monster on the field, he summoned Cyber Ogre 2 (ATK 2600/DEF 1900). He activated his spell card, Axe of Despair increasing the attack of his monster to 1000, in total Cyber Ogre 2 had 3600 points. He placed two card face down and ended his turn.

D had told him: Cyber Ogre 2 was Eddie's ace card. He drew: it took him slightly a back, it was not a card he had on his deck: Graceful Dice...Aster usually did not use gamble type cards, as he found them quite unpredictable, yet, he had seen D and Sartorius heavily rely on them. When Aster had asked D if it was a good strategy at all, the man had assured him that with destiny on his side, it was. Perhaps, he could use it later.

Aster activated his trap card, Fusion Sage, allowing him to add a Polymerization to his hand. If Eddie wanted to play with Fusion Monsters, Aster could definitely follow him. First, he summoned Destiny Hero Drilldark (ATK 1600/DEF 1200), which allowed him to special summon another Destiny Hero to the field, Aster summoned Destiny Hero Doom. With his Polymerization, he fusion-summoned Vision Hero Adoration using Destiny Hero Doom, which was on the field, and Diamond Dude, which was on his hand. Vision Hero Adoration had an attack of 2800 and defense points of 2100.

Eddie gave him a look.

"Interesting monster you got there…What a shame"

The man activated his trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole, and Vision Hero Adoration was banished from the field.

Aster tried to keep a straight face, although he felt defeated. His monster was already placed in attack position. He glanced over his cards, they had already been dueling for two minutes...He placed a card on his magic and trap zone and ended his turn.

In his next turn, Eddie Cipher Soldier (ATK 1350/DEF 1800), using this card, he declared an attack on Drilldark. Aster was surprised to see that Cipher's attack and defense points had increased to 2000.

" My monster has a neat ability of increasing its attack and defense to 2000 when battling warrior type monsters, which happens to be the majority of your deck…"

Aster activated his trap card D Shield.

"A good duelist is someone who can change a situation in a single turn, even against all odds." His mentor commented as he finished his turn. The boy sighed internally, that was quite close. Aster briefly examined the field: he had a 3600 attack monster, and a monster whose attack would increase when battling warrior monsters, plus two cards face down on Eddie's side on the field. First, he activated Dark City, which he had drawn during his draw phase. The field was changed to a silhouette of a city, the only light coming from the cities small square windows. He summoned Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400), still he felt it was not enough. He first wanted to take down Cyber Ogre 2.

"Here goes nothing" Aster told himself as he activated his magic card Graceful Dice. He held his breath as the dice rolled...It landed on a six.

"Perhaps you should trust more gamble cards," Eddie commented.

Now, Aster was ready.

Aster set his attack in motion with Destiny Hero Celestial, he would destroy Cyber Ogre first, and destroy one of his face down cards at the same time. As he launched an attack, he activated his trap card D-Chain, Celestial had a total attack of 3700 while its defense was left at 2000. Cyber Ogre 2 was destroyed, and with that Eddie suffered a 100 loss of life points, Aster also destroyed the face down card that was on Eddie's left (-500 life points), and finally, for D-Chain's effect, Eddie lost 500 life points as well. Finally, Aster attacked Cipher Soldier. While Aster remained with 4000 life points, Eddie remained with 2050 life points. Aster briefly glanced at Eddie's expression who pulled a satisfied grin.

"Excellent!"

"Now" Eddie spoke as they both made their way to the Press room. Aster stepped inside to the office with an oval table and a projector displayed on the wall. He imagined that was the place where duelists would have press conferences once matches were ended. The more days he spent at the Industrial Illusions stadium, the more facilities he discovered. He doubt Kaiba Dome would have a specific room for meetings, although he did felt Kaiba Dome was much more advanced. A brief memory of him with his father walking along the large crystal walls as they found their spots for the upcoming match at Kaiba Dome crossed his mind.

"Besides practice" Eddie catched up distracting Aster. "You need to _understand_ the game."

He explained that while he would begin the introduction, he would have other teachers to teach him theoretical aspects of Duel Monsters.

"I know what you are thinking: "But I never saw D have all of this!"

Aster did thought about it, but had kept quiet about it. Pegasus was giving him a place to stay, a personal trainer, classes, Aster felt it would be unfair to whine after all he was being given. Yet, he puzzled with the schedule presented by Eddie. If he was going to live of dueling, why he needed extra classes? What was there to understand about Duel Monsters besides..._dueling_.

"As good of a duelist as your guardian is...he is an old brand of duelists...a cutter cookie model of every single professional duelist that came once Pegasus realized that _this_ was profitable."

He changed the presentation to show a table with numbers. After briefly glancing it, he realized that they were duelists, organized by points, from highest to lowest. He also noticed D was placed in the 10th position.

"This is your dueling career. All your duels will be summarized in one single number". He pointed at D's picture with his laser pointer.

"Two points when you win, one point if the match ends in a draw and cero, if you lose."

Aster calculated that if D won every match in the upcoming world series he could reach number one. Yet, there was another thing in his mind…

"So...the one who is number one is..._King of Games_?"

Eddie laughed.

"Aster, you should know that the title of King of Games is only relevant in Domino City… And, there is only _one_ real King of Games, the rest are just cheap imitators." Eddie answered mockingly. Yugi Muto. Aster had never exactly imagined to ever be at the level of the legendary Yugi Muto, being crowned King of Games had never exactly crossed his mind.

"You don't want to be the number one in Domino...you want to be the number one in _the world_."

"International" Aster had heard Pegasus telling him that. He figured that was the change in the nature of duel monsters, while it had begun a local game inspired by an Ancient Egyptian game now it had crossed borders.

"Duel Monsters is no longer contained in Domino City, some of the best duelists at the moment are outside Domino, actually."

He glanced at the first name on the chart, Jan Olsen, which sounded Scandinavian, rather than from Domino City.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Domino City is still the hotspot for Dueling Monsters, any professional duelist who calls himself a Pro, must win at least once at the Kaiba Dome in Domino to truly establish himself as worthy."

The imagine he always saw in his head popped once again in his mind. The lights, the speakers, the smoke, the crowd cheering on him. He could almost feel it was real, hearing perfectly clear the crowd encouraging him, laughing at his jokes…Eddie finished his introduction, which made Aster find himself once again back in the room.

"Sounds nice, huh?"

Aster nodded enthusiastically.

"Let's begin the lesson, then!" the man smiled at him as he placed a pilled of books in front of Aster. As much as Aster loved Duel Monsters, he felt he was in for a long ride.

With tired feet, Aster walked slowly as he put on his slippers. As he made his way to the living room he tried to avoid with his gaze the pile of cards resting in the box, which he knew he had to organize. D had already left for Domino City. He left him a letter with instructions and assured him he would call once he reached his destination. With sore arms, Aster grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Never in a million years would he have imagined his hand and arm hurting for too much dueling, if that was even a thing. As he mindlessly stared at the TV he tried to organize his thoughts, trying to remember everything he had learnt in just one day. His lessons mixed on together, like a ball of wood, resulting in a mess on his head. Was it Napoleon who invented Duel Monsters? That did not sound right…

Sartorius placed a cup of tea in front of him and sat by his side, staring at the TV.

"Rough day, huh?" he assumed. The boy nodded as he weakly grabbed the tea cup, the hot liquid pressing against his lips. He noticed the fruit scent coming from the cup. Neither Sartorius or Serena said nothing else, the three of them quietly watching the screen, which was the only light coming from the dark living room. Yet Aster didn't mind, in fact, the silence felt comfortable.

* * *

**Took me a while... idk why I had a brief period of cringing on this story? Like perhaps my readers will think I'm just dragging the story without a clear goal? I also dont like writing duels :P**

**Anyways, I played some old school reggeton and got in the mood and forgot my fears. **

**Tried to bring some parallels between Aster's training and when he trained Chazz in season 4. **

**Also if you haven't guessed it, the way I imagined Duel Monsters is heavely inspired by football (amateru vs profesional legues, with regional and the world series (aka the world cup of duel monsters!). **


	19. Chapter 19

Eddie handed Aster a brochure. As he glanced over it, he realized it was about the Dueling Championship of the Americas. He noticed the date of May 1997, and assumed the next one would be in May of the following year. Nine months from now, he counted in his head. Aster had never heard about the competition.

"We are not going to waste time in pointless local competitions. How do you feel about _this _being your debut?"

He inspected the cover, 34 duelist had participated in the previous tournament held in Mexico City. All the contestants were from the american continent, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. The more he read, the more he felt his stomach doing somersaults. He could tell it was a fierce competition, not only on the day of the tournament, but on classification process. One of every each country of the continent, well almost all of them, were participating. How many were in the United States alone? While in some countries, names repeated themselves over the years, he imagined the madness of the classification process in the US; almost like a tournament on its own.

"I think it's a good place to start"

"When does classification start?"

"It has already started, this week to be precise...you can watch them on the tv, but with the World Series I doubt anybody pays attention."

Aster flipped through the pages, he noticed that the winner of that competition had been none other than Eddie himself.

"Why did you quit?" Aster asked suddenly. Eddie shrugged, and quickly changed the subject.

"What do you say?" He placed his brown eyes on him, a smirk on his face across his lips.

"Don't tell me...I'm already registered." Aster sighed, by Eddie's expression it was pretty obvious Aster didn't have much of a choice.

"Let me say this, I only did it because I think you are ready".

"Isn't it a bit soon?" I mean, I just begun my training three weeks ago!"

"Well, the actual tournament is in eight months, I think by that time you will capable enough to win it". He made a brief pause:

"I have no doubt in my mind you will qualify".

The brown haired man said nothing else and walked with Aster towards the cafeteria. The boy imagined there was no more discussing about the topic. He was going and that was it. Yet, Eddie seemed to genuinely believe in him. Aster wouldn't lie that his blind trust was placing him on edge. He had to perform, and he had to do it well.

Eddie turned around to face him before opening the door in front of him.

"By the way, how is D doing back at Domino?"

Mr. D had called, again. Part of Aster wished that D had not left as soon as they had arrived to the US, but even from the distance he was taking care of him, at least, in his way. D had never insisted on Aster on calling him "Dad", strangely, the word had never escaped Aster's lips by accident either. He was aware that D was not his father, in fact, he was perfectly aware they were two different people. D considered Aster should grown independant, which was the reason he allowed Aster much more space than his father did. D focused on Aster learning skills. If he was hungry, he should learn how to cook for himself, supervised at first, but nevertheless manage on his own.

He heard as D spoke about Domino and the Championship. He explained about the celebratory dinner they were having that night. In his own words, "as a way to show that Kaiba Corporation was all for fairplay and team play". Even miles apart, he could tell D was rolling his eyes at that.

"You'll have to go to lots of events when you become a pro-duelist". To the boy the words of his legal tutor sounded more like a warning. He knew Aster wasn't exactly the social butterfly of any group, but he had told him that if he wanted to be successful he had to be friendly with strangers.

"Maybe Miles will be there!" Aster interrupted D. "Have you seen him? What about Jade?"

D sighed at the end of the line.

"He is travelling, again."

Aster understood that was the end of the topic. Time and time again he had asked about the Tremblay's since D has returned to the city, yet D seemed to avoid the topic. He wasn't surprised that Miles was travelling, he always was. Most of the time, Jade's mom joined him, but he wondered if Jade had gone to the stadium to see him. Maybe she had asked about him? He doubted it, after all, Aster still hadn't time to reply to her first letter... D suddenly asked to speak to Sartorius, which Aster found it strange. He glanced over at Sartorius who was shuffling and flipping his tarot cards as he muttered to himself. The teen turned towards him expectantly.

"Uh...D wants to talk to you."

Sartorius calmly walked towards Aster and gracefully grabbed the phone.

"Hello, yes."

"I see…"

His expression turned to one of surprise.

"Yes, I thought about it...But, don't you prefer doing it yourself?"

"Still, I think he should be the one who wants it."

Sartorius handed back the phone to Aster.

"What was that about he asked?"

"Have you thought about a manager? I think it's key that we get you one as soon as possible"

It was not exactly the answer Aster had expected.

"I...I...no? I'm not even a Pro duelist, yet?"

D chuckled.

"What about you being my manager?" Aster asked.

"I knew you would say that" D lowered his tone, "But with an active career I don't think I can be your manager, Aster."

"But...I don't know anyone else! You know more people than I do"

"What do you think about _Sartorius_?"

"Sartorius!" the kid turned to look at the card reader who stared back at him. He was still standing next to Aster, he imagined he could barely hear their conversation. The teen shrugged.

"Does _he_ want to be my manager?"

"It's just a suggestion, I think it's better if the three of us talk about it in person."

As they were saying their goodbyes over the phone, D said one last thing:

"But seriously, think about it."

When he handled the box with all the cards organized, Eddie Wilde rose an eyebrow. Aster wondered if he had done something wrong. The brunette grabbed the box with both hands and they walked through the hallway towards the arena.

"Is...something wrong?" the silver haired boy asked worried.

"No...not at all!" Eddie excused himself "Actually...that was pretty fast". Yet Aster felt it was not fast enough. Between his classes and trainings, he only had a few hours at night to organize the box. If Eddie gave him another one he promised himself he would finish _much_ faster. However, taking its time had been useful in the end. He had read through all the the 1023 cards inside the box and classified them type. Afterwards, he organized spell and trap cards alphabetically, and monster cards by star levels. In the process, he wrote his thoughts in a small notebook.

"Aren't you going to check them?" Aster wondered out loud. His mentor chuckled.

"I trust you did a good job" he made a brief pause as he gestured with his head the door of the arena. The boy opened it. "Yet, if that makes you sleep at night I will give them a look."

"I…I also wrote down some combos" Aster pulled out the small green notebook from the middle pocket of his hoodie. He was surprised Eddie stopped him.

"Oh no, that is yours. This little notebook of yours should be like a teenage girl's diary: don't show it to anybody."

Eddie removed a blue notebook from his pocket trouser.

"It is a good idea to carry it around, specially in tournaments".

If Eddie Wilde had his own notebook, he imagined D had one as well, although he had never seen it. Perhaps Maximillion Pegasus and even Yugi Moto owned one. He wanted to ask if that was the case. Perhaps it was kept top secret, after all, what was more valuable than looking at the mind of the King of Games himself. The way he thought about the cards, about dueling...He would pay anything to see it!

As it was decided Aster was going to partake in the Championship of the Americans, saying his training had become intense would be considered an understatement. Despite the increased hours in dueling, Eddie insisted that his education remained intact. Always with a reassuring smile telling him, "You can handle it". Aster was unsure, yet part of him was scared of telling Eddie his insecurity. Maximillion Pegasus had been paying for everything: Eddie's salary, their apartment, their food, and would pay for all the trips necessary to qualify to the tournament...If he didn't have some potential, would Pegasus invest in him?

"Does Pegasus sponsor everyone?" he asked drawing a card. He placed it in face down position and ended his turn. While his life points remained with 1500, Eddie had 2500. But Aster knew he could turn it around.

"Only with those he considers he has potential."

As Eddie declared an attack, Aster activated his trap card, D-Shield, ending his mentor's turn. As Eddie began his turn he popped the question:

"Would you like to try using another deck?"

Aster was not going to lie that the idea had been wondering in his mind after watching D at the World Championship. He had already seen D win the local tournament, yet the deck he was using was not the same of the World Championship. While the rules said one had to remain with the same deck throughout a single tournament, duelists were allowed, and even encouraged to change them between tournaments and minor competitions.

Ever since his dad created them, Aster had never departed from his Destiny Hero deck, and the one time he did, one of his most important cards was stolen. Using another deck, almost felt like not being himself at all. he knew that there were other decks, and other cards, he had used them in the past...Would he have won the local tournament and catch Pegasus eye had he not used the Destiny Heroes? Could he have beaten Pegasus using another deck?

Besides, using the deck was if his father was standing next to him everytime he dueled. Like he was supporting him, cheering him on.

"I know this is hard for you."

The boy looked at Eddie.

He approached and patted his head.

"You really place lots of emotional value in dueling, huh?"

His mentor looked slightly puzzled, yet intrigued.

"I just don't understand it…"

As they shuffled their cards, Eddie spoke again:

"Of course, every duelist has their own special deck; yet a real duelist is one who can win using _any_ deck." He placed the deck on his duel disk. "We both have four packs bought at random. Meaning we have equal chances on winning."

The man placed a card on his trap and magic card zone, and a monster in defense face-down position and ended his turn. Aster couldn't even look inside the packs: as soon as he tore them open, Eddie instructed him to shuffle them. He brief peek at some of the cards as they moved in speed succession mixing between each other, but he had no idea what was in his deck. Given the odds, perhaps they had a card or two in common. In his turn, Aster placed Acrobat Monkey (ATK 1000/DEF 1800) in face up defense position as well as two card facedown. He choose not to attack, ending his turn.

"Acrobat Monkey, huh?" Eddie said rather mockingly.

"Didn't you say that a good duelist is someone who can win using _any_ cards?" Aster replied back defiantly. Aster could see a half smile forming on the man's face. As beaming with confidence as he sounded, deep down he wondered if this was a good idea at all.

In his turn, his mentor sacrificed his monster to tribute summon Big Tusked Mammoth (ATK 2000/DEF 1000). He then activated his spell card from his hand, Giant Trunade returning all the face down cards on the field to each of their owner's hand.

"Big Tusked Mammoth has an interesting effect, the turn in which your monsters are summoned, you cannot go into your battle phase." Eddie declared an attack on Aster's monster, but because it was in defense position, Aster did not lose any points. The man placed a card on his magic and trap zone and ended his turn.

Aster drew, and followed his movement by placing one card face down in his magic and trap zone. Looking at his hand he couldn't find anything to to fight Big Tusked Mammoth, although it didn't matter. He would be unable to attack anyways. He was certain that Eddie would not tribute summon Big Tusked Mammoth, so the only way to destroy it was _indirectly_, by a spell or by a monster's effect. He sighed frustrated, he still hadn't found the card which allowed him to do that. On the other hand, he noticed Freed the Matchless General (ATK 2300/DEF 1700) was on the farthest corner of his deck. Yet, he could not summon it. He noticed Eddie was staring at him, was he becoming impatient? He placed a monster in face down defense position and ended his turn unsatisfied, the only thing he could do was buy time.

As Eddie began his turn, Aster activated his trap card, A Feint Plan. With this, he prevented Eddie to attack his monster, even if he would not receive battle damage, he could at least allow him to have one monster on the field to use for Tribute Summoning. Eddie revealed his spell card, Card Destruction, which made Aster curse internally, watching as Freed the Matchless General was placed to rest in his Graveyard. Both players drew a new hand. Then, Eddie summoned Amazon of the Seas (ATK 1200/DEF 1400), and ended his turn.

On the bright side, Aster still had a monster on his side on the field, although not very powerful, his life points were secure. He placed down a second monster in face down attack position, and another card on his magic and trap zone and ended his turn.

"I think it's time we get moving things" Eddie commented as he summoned 7 Coloured Fish (ATK 1800/DEF 800) in attack position, and launched an attack on the face down monster that was positioned on Aster's right side. As it was Mystical Elf (ATK 800/DEF 2000), the card was not destroyed. Eddie ended his turn without adding new cards to the field.

First, Aster flipped summon his other facedown card, Man-Eater Bug (ATK 450/DEF 600), activating its effect and getting rid of Big Tusked Mammoth.

"I agree, I think we should begin to shake things up" he answered snarky.

Next, he sacrificed Man Eater Bug and summoned, Curse of Dragon (ATK 2000/DEF 1500). He launched an attack 7 Coloured Fish, making Eddie lose 200 life points. Aster remained with 4000, while Eddie had 3800.

In his turn, the brunette activated the spell card from the field Sword and Shield, which swapped attack and defense points of the monsters in the field: one the one hand Amazon of the Seas had a total of 1400 points of attack, while 1200 of defense; Mystical Elf had an attack of 2000 and a defense of 800 and finally Curse of Dragon had an attack of 1500 and defense points of 2000. Next, from his hand he activated Axe of Despair, and equipped it to his monster, Amazon of the Seas. which had an increase of 2400 attack points in total. He choose to attack Cursed Dragon making Aster lost 900 points. Now, the tide had turn in Eddie's favor, as Aster remained with 3100 life points, and Eddie with 3800.

In Aster's turn, Sword and Shield as destroyed, and all the monster's attack and defense points were restored to their original position. On the other hand, Amazon of the Seas, still equipped with Axe of Despair had a total of 2300 points of attack and 1400 of defense.

He drew a card and cursed himself internally. None of the cards in his hand made much sense. Two one star monsters, and bunch of spell cards cards which were pretty much...useless. But he couldn't just skip his turn without summoning anything. He summoned Dream Clown (ATK 1200/DEF 900) in attack position...and that was it? It was the strongest monster in his hand at least. He checked his hand again, on the farthest corner he saw The Warrior Returning Alive. Activating the spell card, he special summoned Freed The Matchless General (ATK 2300/DEF 1700).

"Well done, always remember your Graveyard can be an extra deck at times" Eddie commented as he began his turn.

Aster was surprised as Eddie simply placed a card face down and ended his turn. No attack, nor change in positions occured. As Amazon of the Seas had the same attack as Freed he would be unable to attack it; he imagined that even if he equipped Freed, Eddie probably had a card which would either stop the attack, end his battle phase or anything similar...He glanced down at his own face down card, just like he had. The kid activated Dream Clown's effect by switching it to defense position to destroy Amazon of the Seas. Yet, Eddie smiled satisfied and activated the card he had placed in his previous turn, Guard Mines. Amazon of the Seas remained on the field, Dream Clown was destroyed, and Aster suffered a loss of 500 life points. Aster remained with 2600 life points, while Eddie kept his 3800 points.

Aster fell on his knees, defeated. Only a 100 life points between them, almost, but not enough. Of course, without his Destiny Heroes victory was much more difficult. He was unsure how to feel. Part of him felt he had lost on purpose, just to prove himself that victory without his Destiny Heroes was impossible.

Eddie approached him and lend him a hand.

However, Aster did not take it and stood up on his own. He refused to look Eddie in the eye, a wave of emotions rushed over him.

"I have dueled without the Destiny Heroes before…" he muttered.

"But, not using them...feels wrong. I don't want to win without the Destiny Heroes"

"Let's make an agreement." His mentor proposed.

Aster finally looked him in the eye.

"For the qualification process, you will use your Destiny Heroes, if you are not confident without them I cannot let you walk out like _this_ to a match."

Aster sighed relieved, it looked like a good plan.

"But, _only _when you beat your Destiny Heroes I will be convinced that you can win the Championship of the Americas."

"What do you mean?"

"A match just like our first one. A deck made of booster packs and your Destiny Heroes, except you are the one who uses the booster packs…"

Aster chuckled at the suggestion.

"But I beat you that time!"

"What are you scared you won't be able to do it again?"

Aster bit his inner cheek. The wave of negative feelings had been replace for an inner fire. A new challenge, which Aster could not resist. If he could beat his Destiny Heroes he could beat _anyone_.

D victories in the World Series accumulated until reaching the climax of him making it to the finals undefeated. Yet, Aster slowly began following his footsteps in accumulating victories in the classification process for the Regional Championship of the Americas. D had told him that some duelists back in Domino had began to talk about him, of course, all thanks to D who had been the one bringing up the topic. The man had made that _crystal clear. _

"The world is watching you, Aster. Trust me, they are all nothing but amateurs over here, you could easily beat them in two turns" D told him. By the sound of his voice, Aster could tell he sounded bored.

"I don't get why the age requirement of the World Series is 15...Guess you need to wait six more years!"

Aster had never thought about his age as an obstacle for his career as a duelist. Eddie had hinted that he would probably be the youngest at the Regional Championship of the Americas. Just like D was suggesting that it would happen the same in the World Series. He heard D babble his mathematics next to the phone, thinking out loud how to get Aster to the World Series sooner.

"...you will be 14 in the nearest tournament, they are always in August...but you will be 15 in December…"

Aster felt butterflies in his stomach. Eddie, D, even in his brief call with Pegasus and Sartorius they all talked to him as if he was already a Pro Duelist with an impeccable victory record. D referred to him as if it was the most logical conclusion that he qualify and even win the World Series, suggesting over the phone to fake a birth certificate for him to participate in two years even. But yet, his training session of the day had showed him he still had a long way to go.

He looked over at the pile of cards which Eddie had given him, once again. They had remained untouched since he returned home. For the rest of the day, Eddie had suggested of using different decks. While Aster had managed to achieve victory twice, deep down he felt it was simply out of pure luck. Was he really that capable duelist everyone referred to him as? Part of him felt like an imposter.

He was, but only when he used his Destiny Heroes.

"Aster...are you listening to me?" D interrupted him when he noticed the boy had gone quiet and did not react to the conversation.

"Yeah...I'm a bit tired, I think I'm going to bed now."

"If you have trouble you can ask Sartorius...everything becomes clearer when you know destiny is on your side."

He lied in the dark looking at the ceiling. The words D had told him making rounds in his head. Being a duelist was much more than a winning or losing streak, Aster also knew the difference between a Professional duelist and an amature one was that one was getting paid to duel, while the other wasn't...and that was it? If an amateur duelist could win using any deck, wouldn't that make him, well, more skilled? His thoughts went in circles, and they jumped from one thought to the next, spiralling in his brain without making much sense.

It was his fault, he knew he had underperformed compared to the last three weeks. Part of himself still believed he did it on purpose, for _nothing_; just to prove a point to himself; which only led him to frustration and disappointment. He put on his slippers and slowly made his way towards Sartorius room, knocking twice.

He heard the noise of the bed cracking, yet he tell the light was turned on.

"Hey" Sartorius moved aside to let him in.

"Could...could you read my fortune?"

Sartorius made no surprised expression and nodded.

He began shuffling his cards, and separated them in three small decks.

"What would you like to ask?"

"Will...will I participate in the Regional Championship of the Americas?"

Sartorius raised an eyebrow.

"Is that _all_ you want to ask?"

No, it wasn't.

"Yeah."

He instructed Aster to pick one of the three decks. The one he felt the most "_attached_" to, whatever that meant. The boy pointed at the one in the middle. Sartorius began flipping them one by one.

"Yes."

Aster held his breath expectantly, he had the feeling Sartorius wanted to say more.

"Yes, you will participate in the Regional Championship of the Americas. I see lot's of success in your professional career. Like a flower, it's blooming." He looked at him with a calm smile. He then returned his violet eyes to the five cards on the floor.

"While I do see success, I see at the same time lots of inner struggle. I see a bumpy ride ahead, and lot's of insecurities in yourself...But I do see a good outcome in the end, nevertheless."

He gave a half reassuring smile.

"To conclude, a satisfactory but not an easy ride."

"How are _you_?" Aster inquired suddenly.

"Good, thanks" yet Aster noticed his lower lip trembled.

"Have you...seen anything else about the light?"

"I haven't figured anything else." he answered rather sharply. Quickly, he apologized for his tone.

"I would prefer if you...don't get involved...When the time comes, you _will_ know." Sartorius said. The boy felt a bit awkward simply ending the conversation as such. Besides, despite what Sartorius had told him, he still had a lot on his mind. He doubt he would get much sleep.

"Would...you like to have a quick duel?"

* * *

**Hello, hello!**

**Sorry for the long pause. Had writters block :/ ****I guess it's part of being in quarentine...I'm a bit less motivated to do stuff. **

**But anyways, longer chapter for a change :)**

**I kinda felt that I was being a bit...too easy on Aster; time to step it a notch! While I don't like seeing him lose, I do imagine his training had lots of ups and downs...Nobody reaches the top without sacrifices and challenges :) **

**Anyways, enjoy the reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**CH 20**

While Eddie explained the contents of his new time table, Aster felt as if someone was slowly placing Jenga pieces at the crown of his head: one quick shake, and all would fall apart.

"...Every Sunday, I'll give you a new deck, and you'll train using said deck."

Eddie wrote a line under the months of September and October which was sloppily scribbled in the white board.

"8 decks in total" he calculated.

He then circled November and December.

"With all the cards you have used until that point, I want you to come up with 8 different decks...one for every week."

Aster turned to look at the window, as Eddie kept talking. The grey clouds in the sky quite fit with Aster's mood: bored. His thoughts going back and forth between between Eddie, the city and the Championship of the Americas.

To fit with the classification process, Aster's schedule had had been changed completely. The hours occupied with participating, were substituted with more classes and training, meaning his finishing hours were much later than previously. He mentally took note of his routine back at home switching for one hour later, while his waking hour would be an hour before. He shook his head trying not to think too much about it as he jotted down in his notebook.

When D's returned to city as champion for the World Series the household celebrated with a luxurious meal. Aster sat slightly uncomfortable next to Eddie, trying to behave as polite as possible. It was the first time he saw him outside training...in what was supposed to be his free time. He was thankful that the man talked to him about anything but their practices, and asked Aster about his hobbies.

"I wanted to meet you, Eddie" D commented as he pour a glass of white wine on the man's cup. "Given that you may travel a lot with Aster for his upcoming tournament, I think it's fair I get to know who will supervise him." While his tone was kind, and his concern genuine, Aster noticed his expression was serious.

"I understand your concerns. However, I think it would be good for Aster if you accompany us sometime, specially in further trips...he talks a lot about you."

The boy slightly blushed and turned towards Sartorius, and began commenting on the food in front of them as an excuse to turn the attention away from himself; while the older man carried on their conversation. He noticed that they both got along pretty well, watching them laugh and compliment each other on their dueling abilities.

With knees slightly trembling, Aster entered the arena to face his first opponent. The sunlight shooting from the open ceiling of the arena made him squirt his blue eyes slightly. At first glance, his opponent looked a few years older than him. Aster shuffled his feet slightly uncomfortable; he was standing on sand.

An awkward silence. Aster imagined his opponent had expected...someone else. Perhaps an adult or a teen: with his short legs and chubby cheeks, Aster look younger than he actually was.

"How old are you?" his opponent asked. Aster didn't consider his opponent was mocking him, instead, the tone of amusement in his voice.

"Eight" he answered tiredly rolling his eyes. Ever since beginning his training it was a question it popped up often.

His opponent smiled, showing crooked teeth held between braces.

"I won't play nice just 'cause of your age, got it?"

"What a coincidence" Aster snapped back. "I wasn't going to either!"

As he watched his opponent scanning his hand to open the duel, Sartorius prediction kept repeating over and over. "You are going to classify to the Championship of the Americas."

He had seen D ask for Sartorius advice for every match, and he had always been right. The man would always asked the same question:

"What's the outcome?"

And Sartorius would reply:  
"Victorious"

Although he didn't understand tarot reading Aster tried to pay attention to the cards which Sartorius would reveal… perhaps, D was picking always the same cards? Not that he considered Sartorius a sham, part of him truly believed the teen had _something_ special about him. Perhaps it was his stare, his violet eyes, a very intense color which shone with a certain peculiarity in them. Aster sometimes wondered how Sartorius saw the world, he could _see_ the future, where his eyes constantly showing him events before it happened like a film?

The cards drawn by D were never the same. Even cards which at first glance even scaring sounding like "Death", reflected victory.

"It depends on the context, of course." Sartorius explained when he noticed Aster's eyes widen and looked at D scared.

"I see victory, but I change of strategy for your next duel is recommended" Sartorius explained looking at Aster's tutor. The man half smiled satisfied with his answer. No more questions asked.

So if Sartorius had predicted that he would classify...it meant he would win this match, right?

"Hey kid!" He heard the sound of fingers snapping. "Your turn".

Looking back at the field, his opponent had used Fusion Gate and summoned, Skull Knight (ATK 2650/DEF 1700). He stared blankly at the cards on his hand. He knew his time was running out. Yet, mind seemed completely blank, his hand frozen in Destiny Hero Drilldark.

"_Summon it, come on"_ he told himself. It was as if his hand was completely glued to his card, but he couldn't move the card to his duel disk. Sartorius had said he would make it to the championship of the Americas, he had told him he was destined for great things and that had predicted his journey would come full circle, he said...

"Hey!" his opponent called impatiently. Slightly unsure he summoned the card, which materialized itself on the field. Destiny Hero Drilldark had an attack of 1600 and 1400 defense points. He placed two cards face down and ended his turn, a cold sweat running across his back. His opponent began laughing.

"If you are trying to gain pity points from your pathetic little act you are mistaken!"

His opponent activated his spell card, Spiritualism and Aster's trap card, D Counter, was returned to his hand. He then activated his field spell Yami, increasing the attack points of his monster. Skull Knight had in total 2850 of attack points while its defense points were of 1900. He proceeded to summon Aqua Madoor in defense position. Because of Yami's effect it had a total of 1400 attack points and 2200 defense points.

The first thing Aster noticed was that while Skull Knight had low defenses, Aqua Madoor had low attack. If only he had Sword and Shield in his deck...

His opponent began his battle phase by attacking Aster's card, leaving him with 2750 life points, while his opponent remained with 4000. Aster was surprised to find his mind much sharper than the beginning…perhaps was the feeling of being cornered. He was not going to lose, and most of all, he was not going to lose during his first match as a professional duelist.

"_Remember, the crowd also likes a good show...you better keep them engaged!"_

Eddie had told him that during their first match. First, Aster drew Pot of Greed. There were two cards in his deck he needed to turn the duel around. A slim chance of getting both of them, but if he did…Aster almost choked: Guard Penalty and Polymerization. Exactly the two cards needed. What were the odds?

"Seems this destiny thing is on my side this time" he muttered to himself surprised. .

"What did you say?" His opponent shouted impatient. His opponent seemed to become agitated if he was not given attention or acknowledged constantly. Aster rolled his eyes again, ignoring him.

First, he activated his spell card Guard Penalty, changing the position of Skull Knight, he drew one card. He was surprised to find his opponent reveal one of the two cards face down, Guard Penalty. He felt un unjustified sense of jealousy, as if someone was playing with one of his toys. Of course, Guard Penalty was created by his dad. Yet, as it was not a spell card directly linked with his Destiny Heroes, anybody could use it; that was the agreement his father had reached with Pegasus to allow exclusivity for his deck. His opponent drew one card as well as Aster.

"What? I'm not copying you!" his opponent complained, crossing his arms. Aster continued his turn by summoning Destiny Hero Celestial (ATK 1600/DEF 1400) in attack position. Finally, using Polymerization and fusoning Dogma and D-Cube he summoned Destiny Hero Dangerous (ATK 2000/DEF 2000). Finally, the last card in his puzzle, Dark City, which he had drawn using Guard Penalty's effect.

Beginning his battle phase, Aster launched an attack with Destiny Hero Celestial to his opponent's defense monster. Because of the field spell, Dark City, as Destiny Hero Celestial attacked Aqua Madoor, it had an increase of 1000 attack points. The monster was destroyed without issue, and using his monster's effect, the spell card Yami was destroyed, with 500 points of damage. In his second attack, using Dangerous, he attacked Skull Knight. Once again, with the field spell of Dark City, Dangerous attack was increased, and Skull Knight was destroyed. In one single turn, Aster had managed to completely empty his opponent's side of the field. Well...almost, there was still one card in his magic and trap zone. His opponent was left with 3500 life points. Aster placed one card face down, ending his turn.

In his turn, his opponent placed Ancient Brain in defense position (ATK 1000 /DEF 700). Even if his opponent had chosen not to attack, Aster prefered to be more careful. He drew his card D Chain which he instantly placed face down. Using Celestial, and equipping it with his trap card, he attacked his opponent's monster. As he braced himself to launch a direct attack with Dangerous he stopped himself. He noticed the smirk of "gotcha!", in his opponent's lips. Aster remembered one of Eddie's main differences between a Professional and an amateur:

"_The best duelist is also an excellent poker player_."

His expression should never give away if his opponent was falling in a trap, even if his drawn hand was awful, he had to pretend everything was going smoothly. He had failed that aspect at the beginning of the duel. He imagined Eddie would probably ask him what the heck happened back there...yet, if he won an outstanding victory, he would maybe let it slide. Not if, he would. He mentally noted the position of the card: the card on the left space next to the middle. His opponent had 2500 life points, from his monster's attack and the effect of D Chain. Aster remained with 2750. The tildes slowly turning in his favour.

His opponent activated his spell card on the field, Ancient Runes, special summoning The Earl of Demise (ATK 2000/ DEF 700) in attack position, and Aster noticed: another monster with outstanding attack, but poor defences. As the monster declared an attack on Celestial, the silver haired boy activated his face down, D Counter, destroying the monster. He heard the crowd "ohhh" at his movement, feeling a slight twist on his stomach. While the arena was mostly empty, Aster suddenly remembered he had expectators. He briefly rose his head glancing around the seats of arena. Not that the stadium was big in itself, actually, it was one of the smallest, and he imagined less than 5% of it was occupied in that moment. In his turn, Aster glanced at the trap and spell zone of his opponent. He two cards on his magic and trap zone. The card of interest was now in the middle of the two. Aster imagined it was a ploy to confuse him. He activated Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting that card he had noticed previously, ignoring the newly placed ones. As the card disappeared he briefly could read the name: Drowning Mirror Force. Had Aster declared an attack he would have been exposed to all of his monsters being shuffled back into his deck. He would probably have lost. Or probably would have to somehow hold on longer as he gathered a new new hand, as at the moment he only had one card left in his hand. His opponent looked surprised, but Aster didn't waste time in enjoying his dumbfounded expression.

He launched an attack with Dangerous, his opponent's life points turning zero. He didn't bother to look at his opponent who was kneeled on the floor as he walked as in autopilot back to meet Eddie. His tutor had not told him anything about opponent etiquette of any sorts. D had never bother to look at his opponent's either. When Aster asked about it he simply said:

"I didn't cheat, so why should I send a message of fair play when there is no need to?"

Eddie greeted him by messing his hair. As the man opened the door of the limo, the boy noticed the Eddie's chipped nails. He imagined his mentor was watching the match from the first row while furiously biting on his nails, hopping no one noticed. He, who always spoke about peak condition and the importance of taking care of one's hand as a successful duelist. The boy choose not to comment about it. Instead he choose to enjoy a few moments of peace, he imagined Aster's victory also inspired Eddie for a tougher and stricter training.

Despite the tiredness, he returned with a wave of satisfaction which made him ignore his eyes half closing during dinner. He spoke cheerfully, about his strategy, the badly kept stadium and his annoying opponent as D, Sartorius and Serena listened. The brother and sister duo mostly nodded and commented "oh I see", "interesting", while D kept asking him questions, about his alternative strategies. He hadn't expected D watching his match. But it made him feel happy.

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**Happy reading! **

**See you next chapter :D **


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